Intoxication
by The Batchild
Summary: More situated in her existance as a mutant and at Xavier's mansion, Jaklyn and her friends find that they must fight to protect their kind. Sequel to Illusive Rhapsody and takes place during X3: The Last Stand.
1. Chapter One: A Few Months Gone By

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

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**Intoxication  
**Chapter One / _A Few Months Gone By _

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The mansion had come back to life. After a lengthy period of reconstruction, the battered hallways had been retuned to their former glory and everything that had been broken when William Stryker's men had attacked had been replaced. Xavier's mansion was standing tall again and its halls were filled with laughter once more. As spring approached and the expansive amounts of property brightened into green once more, the children spilled outside and the air around the mansion was filled with joy. After the death of Jean Grey and John Allerdyce's choice to abandon his home for Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, many of the students had needed time to recover, but now, all was back to normal. Or, as normal as it can be in a house full of mutants who just lost one of the most important members of their household; Jean had been a mother, a friend and so much more to the majority of the students. The wounds were healed and the scars had begun to fade for all but one.

Jean's lover, her soul mate, Scott Summers seemed to be only one who hadn't recovered in some way or another. Even Logan, who had loved Jean as much as Scott, had returned to his usual surly manner and was going about his life pretty much as he had before. It seemed that Scott had just sunk farther into his depression as time went on. He had become very anti-social, very short-tempered and very bitter: a completely different man than before Jean had died. He had stopped teaching his classes regularly and running his Danger Room sessions. It was almost as if half of him – the happy, good-natured, kind half – had died with his fiery-haired love and left him devoid of everything good. The students and the other adults just ignored him mostly, speaking to him only when they had to.

But everyone else had brightened.

Jaklyn Porter, who had arrived at the mansion almost a year before, had undergone a reconstruction of her own at the same time the mansion was being rebuilt. First off, Jaklyn had shaken her dependence on vodka by shear will power and determination. The biggest part of her new beginning was her birthday present. When she was fourteen, Jaklyn had been attacked by mutant hunters and had lost her left eye to a gunshot, leaving that side of her face twisted and covered in rope-like scars. Her birthday had been in the dead of winter, and for that birthday – her eighteenth – her friends, Mina Felisin, Silence Allerdyce, Kitty Pryde and Bobby Drake, and Logan and Ororo Munroe, two of her teachers, as well as her boyfriend, Piotr Rasputin, had talked the Professor into contacting Forge, a mutant with the ability to design and make anything he wanted, and asking him to design a mechanical eye that would replicate the way Jaklyn's natural eye looked and everything her mutant ability allowed it to do. Forge had agreed and, a month afterward, he and Moira McTaggert, an old friend of the Professor's, had flown to New York from Scotland and preformed the surgery to implant the mechanical eye into Jaklyn's head. When she had come around after the surgery, Jaklyn had burst into tears out of happiness. And when she cried out of both eyes – the tear duct in her left eye had been reopened – for the first time in four years, she cried even harder.

The only mutant her age who hadn't been involved in the gift was Rogue, a southern girl who had the ability to drain other people of their memories, their personality and psyche and disable them for a while. She and Jaklyn hadn't gotten along since they had first met, but Rogue had given Jaklyn her congratulations when she was up and walking again, and Jaklyn had given Rogue a hug.

Christmas that year had been something quite spectacular for Jaklyn, as she had only ever experienced Christmas with three people before - herself and her two adoptive parents Samantha and Jonathon Peters back in England. At the mansion, there were so many more people, and the Christmas tree they set up in the living room was huge, going all the way from the floor to the top of the twelve or so foot ceiling. They had needed ladders to decorate it, and the youngest telekinetic mutant had, if a little shakily, lifted the glittering star to the top of the tree. By Christmas morning, there was a flood of present covering the hardwood floor of the living room, some bought and some homemade and all excepted with smiles and hugs and cries of joy. Many of the mutant's parents had sent gifts, and the Professor had bought something for everyone. Mina had had a bit of a hard time because John, who had been her boyfriend, wasn't there for the first time since she'd come to the mansion, but she hadn't let it ruin her holiday.

Silence had left the day after Christmas to go to New York City where she spent three days with Warren, her "secret mutant-lover", who she wouldn't say anything about. She kept in contact with him through the phone and e-mail, but since he lived the majority of his time in San Francisco, she could only see him once in a Blue Moon when he came to New York City.

Classes had resumed after New Year's Day as normal. It was kind of bittersweet for the older students as this was their last year of classes and they were expected to go out into the real world after this to go to University or get a job or do whatever they pleased. It was a well-known fact that Jaklyn, Mina, Silence, Kitty, Bobby and Piotr were going to come right back to the mansion after University and that they would probably visit or even live there throughout their upper level schooling. They all loved the school so much and their only goal was to become one of the Professor's X-Men and fight on the good side.

"Can you believe we only have like, a couple months left until the summer?" Jaklyn asked, stumbling slightly as they descended the stairs towards the conservatory where they had biology with Ororo, also known as Storm; she was stumbling, because she still wasn't used to perceiving depth with two eyes, and the more she walked, the less balanced she got, and walking from upstairs where they had math with a depressed Scott down to the conservatory was a long walk.

"Shut your face," Silence snapped. "I don't want to think about it. I don't want to leave this place."

"Me either," echoed Mina. "Do you think the Professor would just let us stay here and not go out into the 'real' world? Wait, don't answer that, I know what the answer is: 'Fat chance', right?" The girls laughed as they entered the bright room and sat down in their usual wooden desks. "I still don't know why the Professor doesn't replace these things with chairs. They would be _so _much more comfortable."

Jaklyn shrugged as she turned towards her boyfriend, who sat on the other side of her. "'Morning Piotr," she said, smiling widely, exposing her teeth and along with them, her short fangs.

He smiled back, leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Hey."

They would have said more, but Storm walked in then, her brilliant white hair shining in the sunlight and her tanned skin standing out in stark contrast. "All right class. Today, we will be talking about…"

As she always did in biology, Jaklyn let her mind and thoughts wander as she absently jotted down notes. She would check them against Piotr's later and copy anything else she had to down; he was meticulous in his note taking. She had to stay after class to talk to Storm about scheduling some solo Danger Room sessions to do some analyzing of the progression of her mutation, and then, Logan had asked her to meet him in the garage after dinner that night to talk about something having to do with the incident at Alkali Lake a few months ago. She had no idea what that could be about, but it didn't matter. Logan was her friend, and she liked talking to him. They had a connection on a base level, a animalistic level and they understood each other as such.

"Hey," Silence whispered from behind her. "Jak, do you have any idea when you'll be doing your solo Danger Rooms? I want to come and watch." There was excitement in Silence's voice, as there always was when anything having to do with the Danger Room or fighting was involved.

Jaklyn shrugged and without turning around said, "I might have one before dinner."

"Right. We'll be there if you do."

By "we", she meant Mina, Piotr, and herself for sure and maybe Bobby and Kitty and some of the other mutant kids. They liked watching her perform her sessions because they liked watching shift back and forth between her human and wolf forms, because, besides Mina, she was the only shape shifter at the mansion, and her shifts were more violent than Mina's. Jaklyn's mutant for resembled something about of a horror movie. Her audiences had grown since she had developed the ability to change into a half-human and half-wolf form, something like a werewolf.

When Storm dismissed the class, everyone except Jaklyn got to their feet and exited the room. When they were the only two people left, Jaklyn gathered up her books, shoved them in her bag and walked up to her teacher.

"Hey Jaklyn."

"Hi Storm," she said, smiling her wolfish grin again and sitting on the top of a nearby desk.

"We can't have a lesson tonight. Bobby wants to run some more sessions."

"That's OK."

"Is next week still OK for you?"

Jaklyn thought for a moment. Her and Piotr had plans for Monday and Wednesday, and Friday was the night Jaklyn, Kitty, Mina and Silence went shopping or to the movies. It was girl's night. "Yeah, as long as the lessons are on Tuesday and Thursday night or in the afternoon on any day."

Storm nodded. "That sounds good. I'll let you know what days after I check the schedule, all right?"

Jaklyn nodded. Her and Storm walked out of the conservatory, chatting idly about mundane things like Jaklyn's plans for after the summer. It wasn't a topic the younger mutant was keen on discussing, but she complied placidly to Storm's questions, even though she didn't know all the answers herself. At a hallway intersection near the kitchen, Jaklyn headed to the lounge outside the Professor's office where she had her English class and Storm turned right, heading for the backyard. Now that it was nice outside, Storm didn't like to be away from her garden for very long. The door to the richly decorated room was open and Jaklyn stepped inside to take her usual seat in the front by the window.

The Professor was already seated by the ebony desk he never used, waiting for the students to arrive. "Good morning, Jaklyn. How is your eye doing?" It was a weird question, but one she was used to getting by now.

She sat down and pulled her notebook and her tattered paperback copy of Shakespeare's _Hamlet_ out of her bag and put them on her lap; she had always loved reading Shakespeare. "'Morning, Professor. The eye's fine, but I'm still getting used to have two. Walking is the hardest part. It's like I have to learn all over again." Jaklyn smiled her closed-lip smile to him, like she always did. It wasn't that she was afraid to show him her fangs, but she thought it was rather disrespectful.

"Well, Moira said that would be normal. Have you thought any more about your school applications?" he asked. The Professor was a sort of academic counselor for the students as well as his other roles. "The deadlines for most schools are approaching."

"I sent in a few before Christmas, and I'm working on a couple more… I don't have much hope, really. I mean, I don't have any extra curriculars because this is the first real school I've gone to since I was really young, and I don't have much work experience. Plus, going away from this place isn't something I'm terribly excited about."

The Professor smiled his fatherly smile and opened his mouth to say something else, but the rest of the students filed in from wherever they had gone in the ten minutes allotted between classes and took up their normal seats. Piotr sat behind Jaklyn, Kitty to her left and Silence and Mina, Bobby and Rogue filled out the back row near the bookshelves. There were a few other students around the same age, but Jaklyn only really knew a few of them. There was Siryn, Jubilee, Artie and Jones. There were a few others, including a set of twins, but Jaklyn only knew them by face and some, by power, like the girl who could transfer what she heard as she heard it onto paper.

English flew by like it always did, and then it was time for lunch. In the afternoon, the older students had physics or chemistry with Storm depending on the day, group Danger Room sessions every other day usually run by Logan but sometimes by Logan and Storm, and Spanish with the Professor. Then, it was time for dinner. Not that they _had _to eat then, of course, but if they ate earlier or later students would have to make food for themselves. Jaklyn was restless all through the meal, eager to learn what Logan wanted to talk to her about. Since it had something to do with Alkali Lake, she assumed it had to do with his past, but what would he want to talk to _her _about _his _past for? It's not like she could help him figure out anything. As soon as she had deposited her dishes in the kitchen for Mina and Silence to clean up – it was their turn – she headed out to the garage. Logan _never _ate with the other inhabitants of the mansion, so he was out there when Jaklyn stepped into the large area filled with all of Scott's cars, the cars for anyone's use and the bike that Scott had given Logan after the rugged man had beat it up beyond Scott's liking. It was that bike that Logan was crouched beside, tinkering with.

Jaklyn sat down on an empty stool with wheels on its legs and prodded Logan's thigh with the toe of her slipper covered foot; she wore her slippers everywhere in the mansion, even the subbasement and the garage. "What do you want, Logan?" she asked. She wasn't being rude, that was just how she and Logan talked to each other. "I haven't got all day, you know. I'm a _student_. I have to be _studious._"

He turned and looked up at her, a smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth. "Your eye still creeps me out Half-pint."

"Yeah, that's nice. What did you want to talk to me about?" She bounced impatiently on the stool.

Logan pushed himself onto a stool identical to the one Jaklyn was sitting on, shoved the tools out of the way with his foot and then wheeled a little closer to her. "You can't tell anyone I've asked you to do this, OK? This is my business, and even though I know I could take care of her myself, you're going to smell her anyways, so I might as well tell _you_." He smiled a bit at the confused look on Jaklyn's face. "When we were up at Alkali Lake, I found the room where I was given the metal on my bones. There were three sets of X-Rays in there, one was mine and one of the other sets was this chick that I fought with five claws on each hand that came out of her fingers."

"And _why _are you telling me this?"

"I'm gettin' to that, Half-pint." Logan gave her _the look_ and pulled out a cigar and lit it, savouring the taste for a moment. A puff of smoke surrounded his head; he cleared his throat and said: "The last set of X-Rays was identical to mine, except, the bones belonged to another chick. Her name's Andell Brown."

"I'm still not seeing the point."

"Just shut up and listen. Before I left, Stryker said that she was looking for me."

"Ah. Now I understand. You want me to keep my nose open and let you know if she's coming so you're not caught off guard and you can fight her. You think this Andell is dangerous?"

"If she's anything like me…"

"Ah, point taken." Jaklyn leaned forward a bit, her hands between her legs and her legs sticking out to the side in a childish and playful manner. "Are you _excited_ to meet her when she finally hunts you down?" Jaklyn couldn't keep the smirk from her lips and the dangerous light from her eyes. Logan gave her his "yeah right" look, but didn't say anything. Jaklyn laughed. "Oh, come _on_ Logan! You've got to be excited to meet someone who's like you, who knows the same things you do, who's gone and is going through the same things you have and are! Someone who's _not _trying to kill you," she added, remembering the chick Logan had fought.

"What if this chick _is _trying to kill me?"

"And why would she do that? She doesn't even know you."

Again, Logan raised his eyebrow in a high arch and chewed on his cigar. "You know as well as I do that she'd kill me anyways. Hell, she probably blames _me _for what Stryker did to her. I mean, if he hadn't made me what I am, than he wouldn't have kept testing it out. She probably had a life. She probably _remembers _what she left behind."

"Whatever. I'll keep my nose open for any female scent laced with Adamantium if it'll make you happy." Jaklyn smirked. "I'll watch your back."

"Don't get any ideas Half-pint."

She tried to look innocent, which was extremely difficult because of her fangs and the animal look to her eyes. "What? Me? When have I ever tried to pull anything over on you? It would be stupid because you can smell me coming a mile away." Jaklyn rose to her feet and stretched her arms up to the high garage ceiling. "I'm running a solo Danger Room sessions next week," she informed him. Her hands fell to her hips. "They should be pretty interesting. Storm wants me to run it in my new form and test my potential. According to her and the Professor, I've got quite a lot of that," she added as an afterthought.

"I might come watch." He blew smoke out his nose and also rose to his feet. "See ya later."

"Bye." Jaklyn headed back into the mansion. Almost subconsciously, she started paying more attention to what she smelled, and she allowed her wolf senses to flood to the forefront. The only Adamantium she smelled was Logan's, and the only females she smelled were the ones who lived in the mansion, the ones she smelled everyday. "Ah, no female Logan around yet." She made her way up to Silence and Mina's room where she found them and Kitty sitting around a board game spread out on the floor. "Oo, what are we playing?" She folded her legs underneath her and sat between Kitty and Mina. There was already a place set for her.

"_Scene It_. You know, the movie trivia game." Mina tossed her the dice. "We're rolling to see who goes first, and you're the only one who has to roll."

Jaklyn tossed the dice and grimaced at the bright white number one stared back at her.

"So, Jak," Silence started as she rolled and moved her game piece, "What did Logan want?"

"Can't tell you. It's a _secret_."

Silence stuck her tongue out before the conversation fell into talk about the game and the room filled with shouts and laughter as they answered the DVD questions in turn. Their attentions were riveted on the medium-sized television perched on Silence's desk and wedged into the corner where the walls connected. The game lasted about an hour – Silence won, like always – and then the girls decided to watch a romantic comedy and pig out on popcorn, pop, ice cream, chocolates and whatever else they could find. When the girls had nights like these – no homework, no essays, no dates, no other plans – they usually would pull the classic sleepover moves and the four of them would crash in one room. Around ten thirty, Storm had to come and tell them to be quiet as the other students were trying to sleep and warned them not to stay up too long because they had group Danger Room tomorrow. Being tired in the Danger Room wasn't safe and it wasn't an option. Grudgingly, the girls consented and fell asleep shortly after Storm's visit.

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Now there was a strange pressure… It was beside the hot pressure, the mutant who could manipulate flames. It wasn't the feral one she was looking for, but it was… strange. Older, foreign. She closed her eyes, accessing her powers more deeply, manipulating the energy around her to ascertain more about this odd mutant. He could control metal and magnetic fields… _Hm. I wonder if he could control __**my **__metal. _She opened her eyes and looked down at her hand, clenched into a fist. Three claws shot out and she bit her lip against the pain. Unlike the one she was tracking, Logan or Wolverine or whatever his name was, her claws were strictly metal and they had been implanted completely; there had been no bone protrusions to base them off of. As her claws started to retract, something pulled at them and brought them back out. There was a massive tug over her whole body – it felt like her bones were being pulled out of her body – and she flew forward, crashing through some trees and halted, hanging in mid-air, in front of an older man with a smirk on his face.

"Why are you following me?" he asked, his voice smooth and touched by a British accent.

She just glared at him.

"What is your name?"

Her claws, extended not of her own control, started to spread apart, sending waves of excruciating pain up her arms and through her entire body. "Andell… Andell Brown," she croaked. Suddenly, he let his hold on her go and she crumbled to the ground, coughing slightly.

"What are you doing?" the younger man with the hot pressure snapped. "We don't need anyone else. What if she gets us caught?"

"She won't."

Andell pushed herself back to her feet, planted her hands on her voluminous hips and snarled. "Who the hell are you two and what the hell are you doing in the middle of the woods?" She gave them both a once over, taking stock of their clothing. Unlike herself, the men weren't exactly wearing clothing suitable to hiking though a dense forest. "You're not dressed for it, and you don't look like you belong here, so what the hell are you doing here?"

The young man stepped forward and opened his hand, a flame blossoming in front of his palm. He held it there for a moment, the ball spinning in place and growing slightly. "What makes you think you can talk to us like that?" he snapped. He was a very angry young man.

"Pyro, let it go." The older man turned to face Andell once more, a small smile on his lips; that smile frightened her more than Pyro's fire. "My name is Eric Lehnsherr. You can call me Magneto. And this," he gestured to the boy. "Is John Allerdyce. Pyro. As you've no doubt guessed, I can manipulate metal and he can manipulate fire. As for what we're doing out here… Worthington Labs thinks they have discovered a cure. I have a colleague looking into that claim and we are out here because we are hiding." Magneto smiled. It was a knowing smile. "What, my dear, are you doing out in the woods?"

"I'm hunting."

"And what can _you _do?"

Andell debated with herself if she should tell him. She wasn't sure if she trusted this Magneto, but if he had wanted to harm her, he could have done so by ripping the metal out of her bones or exacting some sort of magnetic torture on her. Besides, if what he said about a cure was true… _Great. Another problem to add to my growing list. _"I can manipulate energy and I have regenerative powers because of the burns the energy leaves behind, and I can things about people before I ever meet them, just by the pressure they give off, but it only works over short distances."

Magneto's eyes lit up. "I could use someone of your talents. Would you care to join us?"

Again, she paused for a moment, thinking. "Sure. But I'm not your lackey or anything like that. I'm staying with you out of my own will and I reserve the right to leave whenever I feel like it. I don't work for anyone. Not anymore."

"Fair enough."

Magneto started walking again, Pyro staying a few steps behind him on his right side and Andell fell into pace on the left side. Pyro seemed angry about her presence, and she guessed that he liked being Magneto's right hand man, that he didn't want any competition for the bosses' attention. _Don't worry kid, I won't steal your thunder or anything. _A thought struck her then. _This guy knows a lot about metal… _"Hey Neto-Magneto, I've gotta question." She almost laughed at the look he gave her.

"Yes?" he asked as he kept walking.

"Have you ever met any other mutants with Adamantium bones?" _Maybe it's a shot in the dark, but it's a shot nonetheless. _

"Why yes, I have. His name is Wolverine. Is that who you are hunting, my dear?"

"Yeah, that's him. I've got a score to settle with him. Do you know where I could find him?"

"I do, but, like I said, I could use someone of your talents with me, so I'm not going to tell you where that is. I imagine we'll run into him sooner or later in our quest against the cure."

Andell snarled but didn't protest. She wasn't going to get anything else out of this guy, so there was no point in trying. Of course, she could try to electrocute him, but he could control her metal, and not to mention his little lapdog would probably burn her and she _hated _being burned, even if never left a mark. Not unless she got upset that was. Her regenerative powers relied on her emotions. If she ever got too upset, her wounds would start reopening and if she wasn't brought under control soon enough, it was possible for her to die. She had been close once, and she never planned on letting that happen again. So far as she knew, there was only one topic that could anger her and upset her that much: her children. The son and daughter that she couldn't remember; the son and daughter she didn't know anything about. She clenched her jaw, bringing her emotions back into the safe zone and focused on the woods around her.

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**Author's Note… **Hurruh! My first sequel has begun! Now, I'm going to be writing this one at the same time I'm writing my new Batman fic, but it shouldn't be a problem, because I'm, like, addicted to both fandoms right now, so we should be OK. Enjoy! By the way, I suck at summaries.


	2. Chapter Two: Danger Room Again

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

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**Intoxication  
**Chapter Two / _Danger Room Again _

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"Get your ass moving Jaki. We've got group Danger Room in ten minutes and we've still gotta change!" Silence pounded on her friend's bedroom door, making it rattle loudly in the frame. Jaklyn had been in her room all afternoon, electing not to go to physics, and she hadn't said anything to anyone since lunch time. "You can't miss the session, Jaklyn. That's not allowed unless you're dying, and I'm sure you would have said something if you were dying. Unless you're already dead. Oh my God. Are you dead?" Silence grabbed the knob and shook the door harder, her ponytail bouncing back and forth. "You'd better not be dead, girl, or I'll kill you!"

The door flew open and a very-tired looking Jaklyn glared at her friend. "I'm coming." She stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind her. "Sorry I kept you waiting," she said mechanically in a low voice.

"What's with you?" Silence asked as they headed towards the stairs.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

Silence didn't believe Jaklyn, but she knew better than to press the issue. When they got down to the second floor from Jaklyn's tower bedroom, they took the elevator down to the subbasement and walked quickly to the change room where they shed their everyday clothes and pulled on their leather outfits the students had dubbed the X-Uniforms. Jaklyn's, which was specially designed to transform with her, consisted of skinny-legged pants which went inside her boots and a body suit. Her knives were in harnesses on her thighs, and the harnesses were made of the same material as the rest of her suit. The trim on her suit was bright blue. Silence's outfit was pretty much the same. She had the same pants and boots as Jaklyn, but her shirt was long-sleeved, coming to a tight close around her wrists and sat off her shoulders. Her trim was blood red.

The girls ran into the Danger Room proper where Storm and Logan were briefing the rest of the students; Logan was filling in for Scott, who was too busy moping around the mansion to perform his teaching duties. Everyone understood how he felt though, and didn't hold it against him. Storm gave the girls disapproving looks and then went back to the beginning in her explanation of the simulation they would be running – something defensive. Silence groaned and then fell into line beside Mina. She hated defensive exercises.

Mina, who looked at her friends with one eyebrow raised, wondering what had made them late, was dressed in a zippered tunic-sort of thing covering from her chin down to the middle of her thighs with a body suit underneath. Covering most of her arms and legs were high boots and gloves that went to her elbows, and everything was decorated with bright silver trim. Her outfit too, was designed to transform with her. Peter's arms were bared and his outfit consisted of a vest and pants and boots. His trim was a bluish-silver, different enough from Mina's, and he looked at Jaklyn with a worried expression on his face. Bobby was wearing a full-body suit with light blue trim and a zipper down the front with army-style boots. The zipper was done up all the way to his chin, and he looked slightly nervous. Rogue's uniform was full-bodied as well, and had a zipper down the front like Bobby's – that she kept undone a few inches – but she wore cloves to keep her from accidentally stealing someone's psyche, and the trim on her outfit was green. Looking exactly like Rogue's, only with different boots, pink trim, and her zipper undone further, Kitty finished off the line. And while Storm was wearing her caped outfit unzipped far enough to show some cleavage, Logan was wearing his normal jeans, white t-shirt, leather jacket and motorcycle boots, and the stub a cigar hung out the corner of his mouth.

"Now, get into place everyone and we'll start the simulation."

Silence had only vaguely been listening to Storm, but she never really followed the simulation instructions anyway. Besides, she was worried about Jaklyn. She'd never seen the wolfish girl look so tired. Friends trumped school any day.

The simulation they were running required the mutants to start off in small groups. Peter was with Rogue, Bobby with Kitty and Jaklyn, Mina with Silence and then Storm and Logan, and they would communicate with each other over ear-mounted com devices. As Mina crouched behind the materializing rock with her partner, she leaned close and whispered:

"Does Jaklyn look odd to you?"

"When I went and got her from her room, she was like, exhausted. And she's never that tired. She _always _has energy. There's definitely something weird going on with that girl, and I'm willing to bet it's got something to do with her mutation. Do you realize how fast hers is progressing? When she got here, she couldn't even transform easily. Now she can maintain a half-transformation for like, ten minutes." Mina only nodded in response and Silence huffed as the Sentinels appeared and began stalking towards them. "We'll have to see how she does today… Defense exercises always get her riled up. She hates them."

The simulation progressed normally for the first few minutes. All three Sentinels sent rockets in every direction, creating massive explosions that thundered through the air and made the communication devices practically useless, while the mutants scurried around from boulder to boulder, ruined house to ruined house, defensively sneaking closer until they could attack and kill the mechanical fiend quickly. Rubble rained down over their paths, creating an infinite number of unpredictable hazards. Kitty phased her and Bobby through a missile while Jaklyn crouched behind the rocks where they were supposed to be with a look on her face like she was about to fall asleep, and Colossus turned Rogue into metal by putting a hand on the exposed skin of her face. It was a good thing Jaklyn wasn't completely herself at that moment, because she hated it when Rogue and Colossus worked together; the fact that Colossus was the only person Rogue could touch without killing wasn't exactly a thing Jaklyn liked either. Silence sent a fireball at a missile making it blow up before it was close enough to harm either her or Mina. Storm relentlessly screamed orders over their earpieces and, slowly but surely, they took down two of the Sentinels.

Silence and Mina ended up becoming separated in a mad dash to the next spot of cover and the fiery haired girl ended up hiding behind an overturned car with Logan. "This is _not _moving fast enough," she complained, moving closer to him and blowing up another missile.

"I agree. What do you say we speed things along?"

"Oo, Storm is gonna be so mad at you." Silence was grinning devilishly though. There was a reason Logan was her favourite adult at the mansion.

"The thing ruined my last cigar. I can deal with Storm." Momentarily, he placed a reassuring hand on the back of her shoulder and then Logan stepped into the open, right into the Sentinel's path; Silence wondered what his plan was. "Hey Tin Man," he called at Colossus. "Throw me."

Silence watched in amazement and in humour – she had to force herself not to laugh out loud – as Colossus stepped forward, a confused look on his face, and grabbed Logan by his belt and the front of his shirt. Without so much as the slightest grunt, Colossus heaved Logan into the air, spun him around and sent him flying towards the Sentinel's head. Silence gave a small whoop in delight as Logan's Adamantium claws sliced through the machine's head with an unpleasant grating noise and it came tumbling down, Logan clinging onto the back of it. She ran forward as the rest of the students congregated and smiled broadly at him.

"That was definitely speeding things up." She turned to Storm. "Why can't we ever do something like _that_?" she complained.

Storm obviously wasn't happy. "Because this," she hissed, "was a _defensive_ exercise."

The simulation evaporated behind them as the seven students and two teachers exited the Danger Room. The girls headed into their locker room and began to undress. Silence looked at her watch. The simulation had taken almost an hour and a half. Normally, they took less than half that time and they ran them at least twice. Oh well. Silence was about to say something when she noticed Jaklyn, sitting on the floor, looking like she was about to throw up. Her face was very nearly green. Like, honest to goodness, _green_.

"Jak? Are you OK?" she asked.

Mina, Rogue, Kitty and Storm turned at the sound of concern at the same time Jaklyn looked up and _snarled _at Silence, her fangs extending like she was about to transform. "I'm fine," she snapped. "Just tired."

She looked across the room at Storm to show just how worried she was, and then Silence looked back down at Jaklyn. "I don't believe you, and when you're ready to tell me the truth, I'll be listening." She scowled as Jaklyn grabbed her clothes and a towel and headed into the showers. Silence didn't like it when her friends were lying to her blatantly.

When everyone was de-stinkyfied, it was close to dinner, and everyone gathered in the dining room while a group of younger students – it had been their turn to plan and cook dinner – brought out trays of shredded cheese and lettuce, sour cream, salsa, chopped tomatoes and platters of hard and soft shells. They had tacos for dinner. It was Peter and Jaklyn's turn to clean the dishes, so Silence and Mina, Kitty, Bobby and Rogue went into the living room to study, knowing their friends would join them when they were finished.

* * *

"Jaki, is there something wrong?" Piotr asked as he washed another pot that couldn't go in the dishwasher.

She leaned on the counter. It wasn't that she didn't trust anyone or think that they wouldn't care about her, but Jaklyn was _afraid _to tell anyone what was wrong, because she thought they would hate her or they would think she was a freak again. Spending a good chunk of your life with only one eye and nasty scars covering a lot of your body gave you weird fears like that. But Piotr… Well, if she asked her boyfriend not to tell, he wouldn't tell. "You can't tell anyone Piotr. I don't want anyone to know. Not yet. Not until I can figure out what's wrong." It sounded even more stupid as she said it out loud, but that was how she felt. She turned her half-artificial gaze up at him. "I think my mutation is progressing again. But I'm not sure… I've been having these fits of pain and nausea and bloodlust. Today, when we were in the Danger Room, I almost _attacked _Bobby. Bobby. I thought about really hurting him…"

"Jaki, you are _not _an animal."

"I _know _that. But I feel like it sometimes. It's like I used to feel, but… _worse_." She dried the pot and set it in the pile to go in the cupboard. "Piotr… I hate being afraid of my powers like this."

He reached out to hug her, but Jaklyn made a startling noise of pain, went rigid, and then collapsed on the floor, her whole body twitching spastically and her fingers actually scratching the marble tiles on the floor. Panicked, Piotr raced into the hallway, screamed for help and then ran back to Jaklyn, rolling her on her side and trying to calm her down. He didn't know what to do, and the noises of agony she was making were bringing tears to his eyes. Storm and the Professor seemed to suddenly be there, along with the entire student body of the mansion, and everyone was looking at Jaklyn, seizing – or what Piotr thought was seizing – on the floor.

"Piotr, hold her as still as you can," the Professor commanded. When Piotr's hands were holding the smaller girl, the Professor put his hands on her head and then, she stopped moving. "I've sedated her. Bring her down to the infirmary. Storm, calm the kids down and then join us. No one else comes down." Piotr noticed Professor X look pointedly at Mina and Silence. "_No one_." And then he wheeled off to the elevator.

Piotr carried Jaklyn close to his chest, her head leaning against his shoulder. He was vividly reminded of the time when the mansion had been attacked and Jaklyn had collapsed of blood loss and exhaustion. When they had been escaping through the secret tunnels, he had carried her in exactly the same way. In the blue-tinged infirmary, he laid her on the examination table and followed Xavier's instructions on hooking Jaklyn up to the many monitors and machines surrounding them.

"Her mutation is progressing very rapidly," the Professor informed him.

"She mentioned something about that before she collapsed. That's what he thought was happening to her."

"Foolish girl. She should have told me or someone sooner." Professor Xavier sighed heavily and pressed his fingers to different spots on her head. Storm appeared somewhere in the middle of the procedure, and a few moments after that, the Professor said, "I've placed a block around her mind so the mutation filters into her mind at a more reasonable pace. I don't know how her body will react, but my guess is that she'll be fine. Piotr, could you stay down her tonight and keep an eye on her?" _And contact me if anything goes wrong. _

"That's no problem, Professor."

* * *

Andell had come to the startling conclusion that she did _not _like Pyro, not at all. He was always trying to impress Magneto, like he was starved for attention or something, and he was always annoying the hell out of Andell, by creating balls of fire and sending them flying around the room in random patterns or spinning around her head. When he did that, she'd grab the fireball and smoother it, letting it burn her flesh and then making sure he saw it when her burnt, blistered and oozing flesh healed itself. But Pyro would just do it _again_. More than once, she had had the urge to electrocute him, and more than once, she just barely suppressed that urge. The damn kid didn't know how lucky he was to be around her and survive an irritated state.

Magneto still hadn't told her anything about Wolverine, and she didn't think she'd get any information out of him anytime soon, but she was content to sit around and watch as he made plans to muster up some kind of army to take on this "cure"; she agreed that the humans were wrong, but she didn't share his vehement hate of the homo sapiens. Things obviously weren't going as he had planned though. Apparently the colleague stealing whatever information she could on the cure was supposed to have been back a long time ago, and Magneto was afraid she had been captured. Actually, he was near to completely certain that she had been captured. But he didn't seem terribly worried. According to Pyro, Mystique – the colleague – could take care of herself, and she would be out of whatever prison they were holding her in before they knew it. She was a shape shifter, you see. And if she couldn't escape from the prison by herself, Magneto would hunt her down and help her. Mystique was apparently very important to Magneto, and Andell was kind of keen on meeting her eventually.

Currently, Andell was amusing herself by sending tiny bolts of electricity into the metal walls of Magneto's underground hideout, and watching them charge around the room as she manipulated their paths. Her favourite energy to play with was electrical because of the snapping and popping noises it made. She made the energy she controlled take on a bluish-purple colour. It was so much more attractive than white or yellow.

"Andell, may I ask you something?" Magneto asked her as he strode into the room.

"Shoot."

"Did you escape from Mr. Stryker's confines? Or did he let you go?"

She shrugged with one shoulder, bringing the last bolt of energy back into her hand and wincing as it burned her flesh. As her wound healed, she sucked in a satisfied breath and fixed her purplish gaze on Magneto in his black turtleneck. "I killed a bunch of his scientists and soldiers as I escaped, and then they chased me through the forest for a while, but I managed to loose them." She paused and looked at him, reading his expression, interpreting his pressure. "And next, you're going to want to know how I knew about Wolverine. Stryker told me. He taunted me with it, told me how Wolverine was the first and how he _needed _to experiment more, so he could make more weapons like Wolverine - weapons that he would _control_. I was the one hundred and thirteenth person he tried his freaky experiments on. Wolverine was number one hundred. After me, he made Lady Deathstrike. She took to his mind-control serum. I didn't; something to do with my energy manipulation. So I escaped. Killed as many as I could on the way out."

"What did you do after you escaped?" Magneto spun his throne-like chair around and sat down, crossing his right leg over his left.

"I'm not sure why you care, but I walked into the first town I came to, completely naked and covered in dried blood and flesh blood and asked for food and clothes. And they gave them to me. Apparently, when you're naked, you get whatever you ask for."

"Only when you're a beautiful woman, my dear."

Andell nodded, slightly put off by the odd remark. "Right." She sent another bolt of energy running through the walls of the strange underground hideout that was made completely of metal. "Have you heard anything from your colleague yet?"

"No, I haven't. But, we will be heading into the city soon regardless."

"Right," she said again. Andell called back the energy back into her palm and stretched. "I'm going for a walk."

Without waiting for an answer, Andell strode to the stairs and gracefully ascended, opened the storm-cellar type doors and stepped into the peaceful, green forest. It was raining gently, the water looking more like mist, and there was wildlife surrounding her. She couldn't see the birds and squirrels and all that was out there, but she could feel them. Their pressures were wild and warm and alive. Somewhere nearby, there was a mother bear and her newborn cubs, and farther away, at the very edges of Andell's power, was a den of wolves. She set out in the direction of the wolves, moving incredibly silently through the woods. She preferred the company of wolves to bears and she felt more akin to the canine animals. Something in the way they behaved in their pack reminded her of a human family, of the family she had, at one point, in the past. The family she'd abandoned for reasons unknown to her. It took her a few hours to reach the den, and she didn't go too close. She found a rock with a good view and propped herself upon it to watch as the cubs wrestled and played with their mothers and the other members of the pack looking on protectively. She tested her own pressure and forced it to be calm, so the wolves wouldn't think she meant any harm.

One of the older wolves spotted her and fixed her intense yellow eyes on Andell. The wolf approached her slowly and stuck her nose into Andell's hand. Something in the gesture touched Andell and she sniffed and began to cry softly. She slid onto the ground to gently stroke the wolf's ear.

* * *

Mina and Silence were worried about her. So were the Professor, Bobby and Kitty and Storm and Logan and even, even Rogue. The younger mutants were confused: they didn't know what was going on. And Jaklyn wished she console them, tell them she was all right, but she couldn't. She was locked inside her own mind, and she could _feel _everything going on in the mansion above and around her; she could feel her mutation ripping through her body, changing every fibre of her being, ripping apart her DNA and rebuilding it in the image it wanted. Jaklyn was completely out of control and she didn't like it. It was exactly like when her mutations manifested, except this time, there were no mutant hunters around. This time, she was safe.

But she was trapped.

She couldn't move.

She wasn't even breathing of her own accord.

She was trapped.

And she couldn't call for help. Piotr was sitting right beside her – he had been for hours and hours – and she couldn't call out to him. She couldn't hold his hand. She couldn't take solace in his comfort, his love Jaklyn was completely alone and she hated it. In the whole of her life, Jaklyn had never been completely alone. When her parents had died, Samantha and Jonathon had been there for her. And then she had come to the mansion and she had found a family who understood what she was going through, who could protect and take care of her in ways that no one else could. But now, no one, not even the Professor, could reach her in the isolated centers of her brain, her conscious, her being.

The filter Professor Xavier had put in place _was _helping, but that was all anyone could do. Her body had stopped seizing and there was no more pain. Only blackness and silence.

And it seemed to just keep going.

She had no idea how long she had been in the physically paralyzed state, but it felt like forever.

_I hate this. I bloody hate this. Why can't I just wake up? Why can't things just go back to normal? Why does it have to be __**my **__mutation that jumped ahead like this? _In her head, she sighed loudly, crossed her arms and jutted one hip out defiantly; just like she would have done it she had physical control over her body. _The Professor will have to explain all of this to me when I wake up. He'll have to… Wait. I think… _Her fingers twitched.

"Jaki?" she heard Piotr say, surprised.

The roaring in her blood stopped. Suddenly. Control of her body was back under her conscious thought, and she felt her senses return to normal. And her first sensation…

"I have to pee." She swung her legs off the table, pulled the monitor wires from her chest and head and ran into the bathroom attached to the infirmary. When she came back out, she sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "That feels better." She pushed herself off the frame and walked over to a rather stunned-looking Piotr and flung her arms around his chest.

"I was worried about you," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "We were all worried about you."

Jaklyn pressed her face into her boyfriend's chest, savouring the warmth. Until then, she hadn't realized how cold she'd been, locked inside herself, or how hungry, but right then, she just wanted to stay in Piotr's arms, where she felt the safest. "I know… I'm sorry. And I'm sorry if I was any bitchier than normal. I guess the Professor told you what was going on with me. I think… I should be OK now. That filter he put in place feels like it's working – I feel a hell of a lot calmer."

Piotr just nodded. "I'll get the Professor to come down and make sure you're really OK before you go back upstairs."

Jaklyn sat on the examination table while Piotr contacted the Professor though his thoughts; the inhabitants of the mansion had an easier time of reaching the Professor that way, because he was well tuned to all that went on inside his house. It didn't take long for him to make it to the subbasement. There was an elevator inside his office. When he entered the infirmary, he wheeled over to Jaklyn and smiled warmly; he was genuinely happy to see that she was awake and moving about. The first thing he did was a quick, standard check-up, just to make sure everything was working OK. Apparently, her pulse was quicker than it had been before. It was racing at about the same speed as a dog's, but that was obviously a side-effect of her mutation. Other than that, everything seemed to be in good shape.

"How do you feel, Jaklyn?" Professor Xavier asked.

She shrugged. "A little weird, but all right. I can feel the filter thing you put in my head, and I think it's working. Everything seems to be moving at a better pace."

"Good. I'm going to get Storm to run you through some other tests to check your mutation. They'll be similar to the ones that…" He paused, gathering himself together. "That Jean ran when you first came to the mansion. She's on her way, and as soon as those are done, you can go back upstairs and resume life as normal." Xavier started to wheel towards the door, but than he stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "You're lucky I got that barrier in place when I did. If it had been any later… Jaklyn, I fear your mind may have been lost. Your mutation isn't progressing like anything I've seen before."

She nodded, understanding the magnitude of what he was saying. "I'll let you know if I start to feel weird again."

Storm arrived shortly after the Professor left and was eager to explore Jaklyn's furthered mutation. Piotr stayed off to one side of the room, watching impassively, waiting to see if he would be needed. Jaklyn had to change into her full wolf form and back a few times, and then transform individual parts of her body at Storm's command and then she had to shift into her half-wolf form and maintain it for as long as she can. Before, she could maintain the form for maybe ten minutes at the most, and that was pushing it. As she stood there, almost as tall as Piotr in her transformed state, Jaklyn felt as if she could maintain the form forever. Storm was impressed. Next, she tested Jaklyn's enhanced senses, strength and speed and they found all had greatly improved. And, according to what the Professor had told Storm, her mutation wasn't finished yet. The filter was going to make it move at a more normal pace so her body and mind could deal with it, but her mutation would finish progressing soon.

"All right hon, you can head back upstairs now," Storm said once they had finished the tests.

"That was impressive." Piotr smiled down at her as they stepped into the elevator, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "Silence and Mina will be excited too, I'm sure. You'll have to show them."

Jaklyn smiled wolfishly. "Oh, I know."

When they stepped off the elevator, into the hallway, Jaklyn spotted Logan and Scott, standing a ways down the hall, staring intently at each other, hostility floating in the air between them. With her hearing always in its enhanced state, she heard Logan say:

"Maybe it's time we moved on." His voice was sad, heavy. He was obviously talking about Jean.

"Not everyone heals as fast as you," was Scott's reply, and Jaklyn felt the pain as the words hit Logan.

She pushed Piotr into the living room where Silence and Mina were sitting with their other friends, watching television and focused on regaling them with her story of being locked inside herself and what she could do now that he mutation had progressed.

* * *

**Author's Note… **So I don't like this chapter as much, but that's OK, because it's done and in the next chapter… duh nuh nuh! It's the cure! So I'll be able to write some fun stuff for that chapter! Haha, the last chapter was 4820 words and this one is 4821. That's funny.


	3. Chapter Three: The Cure

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Three / _The Cure _

* * *

Jaklyn returned to class eagerly the next day. She was taking a joy in being able to move, and she didn't really sit still for very long. And while it got more and more annoying, no one said anything, because they didn't want to quash her returned energy. She hadn't shown any effects of her mutation progressing too rapidly, so the filter was obviously working. Professor Xavier was the only one who could keep her still, and his classes, English and Mutant Ethics, were the only classes she sat still in. In ethics, Jaklyn sat between Silence and Mina, with Piotr behind her, and she kept her attention completely riveted on the Professor as he spoke. When they watched the video of Moira McTaggert and her patient in a coma, she smiled, silently thanking Moira again for performing the surgery on her eye. As if in response, her left eye twitched spasmodically.

Halfway through the class, the sunny skies clouded over rapidly and a psychic pressure swept through the room. All of the students felt it, and they all were unsettled.

"What's going on Professor?" Kitty asked, sitting forward in her chair a bit.

He smiled, ignoring their panic; that gesture should have calmed them, but it did not. They all knew something was wrong. "We'll continue our discussion tomorrow. Class is dismissed." Professor Xavier was distracted as he wheeled out of the room, leaving a wake of confused students in his wake.

"Well, that was weird. Did you guys feel that pressure?" Silence asked, gathering her books together. "That was a seriously weird feeling. Like… I've never felt anything like that before. And I've lived in a house with a bunch of psychics for a _huge _portion of my life. That was _so _weird."

"Agreed," Mina said. "Now shut up."

Silence, Mina, Jaklyn, Piotr and Kitty proceeded into the hallway after Bobby and Rogue – who headed towards the living room, bickering about something – and stood in front of one of the large windows, watching the blackish clouds churning and spinning and the lightning flickering across the sky. They knew it was Storm, and they knew she was upset. They also knew the Professor would calm her down and they had no cause to worry about what _could _happen. Jaklyn sighed and leaned against the window and sighed. Piotr took up his place next to her and Jaklyn rested her head on his shoulder. Silence, Kitty and Mina leaned on the railing across the hallway from them.

"So now what do we do?" Silence asked, dropping her back to the floor at her feet. "Ever since the thing at Alkali Lake and Jean's death and Pyro leaving, nothing goes on around here." She looked at Jaklyn, apologetically. "Of course, I'm not downplaying your problems, Jaki, your thing is pretty serious, but there's nothing I can do to get involved in that, and I'm itching for some action. Like, you have no idea." She shifted uncomfortable, and she knew that everyone had noticed her restlessness.

"Well, my problems are passing."

"Exactly." Mina cuffed Silence on the shoulder. "So stop wishing hardships on our friends. And _relax_."

Jaklyn, Piotr and Kitty laughed as Mina and Silence slapped at each other a bit. Things at the mansion _were _slower, calmer, but Silence seemed to be the only one really having a problem with that. Everyone else liked the calm, and they were glad for the time off from the fighting, the drama, the fear and the panic. Everyone liked having the time to practice, to learn and to be as close to normal as they could be. But Silence wasn't most mutants, she didn't want to sit still, but then again, she didn't have a lot to learn when it came to her powers. Spending most of her childhood, and her early teen years traveling and protecting her and her brother gave her lots of time to become familiar with the way her powers worked, they way they would progress. Silence liked to _do _things.

Suddenly, Jaklyn froze. Less than a second later, she was standing back up, her face turned toward the front hallway, a ripple of change crossing her face; her fangs extended and she growled. Her lip was pulled back and everything about her stance said _alert._

"Someone's coming," she snarled. "Someone I've never smelt before."

The small group gathered up their things and traversed the halls to the big front doors and came face to face with a man in a suit and red tie with bright blue fur and bright blue skin where there wasn't fur, and a friendly smile on his face. He looked very official, and that would have worried the students, if hadn't been blatantly obvious he was a mutant. Jaklyn's demeanor changed rapidly again and she was standing in her normal posture, returning the smile. So, the blue man wasn't dangerous, and the other three knew it.

"Hello," he said, retaining his smile as Jaklyn approached.

"Hey." Jaklyn extended her hand. "My name's Jaklyn Porter. It's great to meet you, Mr. McCoy." No one had to ask how she knew who he was. Even if she hadn't had super-enhanced senses, _all _mutants knew who Henry McCoy was, even if it took a minute for them to get over the shock of his blue-ness; he was the head of the Department of Mutant Affairs in the President's Cabinet.

"And who are your friends?" he asked.

Jaklyn pointed to each in turn. "Silence Allerdyce, Mina Felisin, Piotr Rasputin and Kitty Pryde."

McCoy greeted them and then asked where the Professor was. The students didn't know anything else beyond he was calming Storm down and that it wouldn't take that long. They ended up walking with the blue mutant to one of the sitting rooms at the back of the mansion near the Professor's office, where he was content to wait for Xavier to be finished whatever he was doing. Jaklyn couldn't help but be reminded of another blue mutant she had met briefly after the incident at Alkali Lake – Nightcrawler. He had left the mansion for reasons unknown to her, but she missed his pacifist ways.

"So, what is or was your X-Men name?" Silence asked as the students sat down on the couches and McCoy sat on the edge of the desk near the window.

"They called me Beast. You can see why."

Silence was _very _interested in other mutant's powers, almost to the point of rudeness. "Yeah, I can. Do you have any other mutations? You know, besides the blue fur?" She sat forward a little, leaning over the arm of the couch.

Beast smiled and nodded. "Enhanced strength, speed… That whole shebang. Everything animalistic. What can all of you do?" Jaklyn wasn't sure if Beast was really interested, or if he was just making conversation, or both, but Silence was happy to answer his question for everyone.

"I create and manipulate fire, Pete can cover his body in organic metal and he's got like super strength and he's indestructible, Kitty can phase through anything and destroy electronics if she phases through them, Mina changes into different animals – she's a shape shifter, and she could turn into humans, but she gets a major headache so she doesn't do that – and Jaki here can transform into a wolf and like, a werewolf sort of thing. She's like, crazy feral." The red-head smiled and opened her mouth to say something else, but the Professor appeared then. "Oh, hey Professor. Everything OK with Storm?"

"Yes Silence, thank you for asking." He turned to smile at Beast. "Henry. Good to see you. Ororo will be down in the moment." His hawk-like gaze turned to the students. "Why don't you head to the living room?" _Henry, Storm and I would like to speak alone, thank you. _

The students all nodded and obediently rose to their feet and left the room, saying polite goodbyes to Beast and the Professor. As usual, the main living room was filled with students studying, watching TV, playing games, running around and using their powers for random things. One of the young mutants who was relatively attached to Piotr joined the older group as they sat on the large couches in the corner by the bookshelves, as did Bobby and Rogue. For a while, they just talked about nothing in particular, trying to waste away the hours between then and dinner and bedtime. Jaklyn had a moment where she felt like the filter wasn't working and she was going to have some sort of fit again, but it passed. The discussion ranged from school, to the change in Scott, and to why a member of the original student body at the mansion would come back to visit the Professor. Beast had been wearing a very formal looking suit, and there was something underneath all his happiness, Jaklyn could feel it, so it obviously hadn't just been a social visit.

"Hey guys, look at this! They're talking about a mutant cure!"

Everyone's attention snapped to the television. Afterwards, no one could tell you who had alerted the living room to the disturbing news, but everyone could tell you how they felt. Outraged. The entire student body was gathered around the large television, watching as Warren Worthington II stood in front of his lab on Alcatraz Island, talking about how mutants were just sick and how all they needed, like with any disease, was a cure. And he had apparently found one.

Silence, in particular, was reaching the breaking point, and when that happened, it was dangerous. Her eyes were flickering and there was almost a tangible aura of flame around her as she stared daggers at the television. And it was that anger that alerted Mina to just who the Warren that Silence was dating in New York City was.

"You're dating Warren Worthington _the Third_?" the smaller girl hissed. Obviously, she was very mad. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that? That's kind of an important fact! The guy's like, nearly as rich as the Professor and now his _father _is trying to cure us! How can you date him? He's probably already gotten the cure!" Jaklyn winced as she saw a new idea enter Mina's head and she was afraid of what it could be. "How long have you know about the cure, Silence? Have you known all this time and haven't told us? Are _you _going to get the cure?" Mina's voice was dangerous and low; Jaklyn could only hear because of her enhanced senses.

The rest of the students held their breath as Silence rose to her feet; by now, they had turned away from the Q&A session on the TV and were more interested in the drama going on in right in front of them. Silence's crimson eyes fixed on Mina and she stared the smaller girl down. "Yes. I am dating Warren Worthington the Third," she said, her voice perfectly calm and collected. Another bad sign. "No. I did _not _know about the cure. And _no _I am not _getting _the cure. And, if Warren _has _gotten the cure…" Her voice broke, emotion flooding in and tears budding in her eyes. She turned from the room and left.

"Way to go, Mina," Jaklyn sighed.

Mina's mood had immediately sunk. Silence was her best friend, and hadn't meant to hurt her, but she was offended that Silence hadn't trusted her enough to tell her, and she was angry about the cure. Mina looked at Jaklyn and sighed heavily. "That was stupid – I know."

"Si'll be fine in a couple hours. Once she realizes how angry she is about everything."

"Hey, did anyone see where Rogue went?" Bobby asked. "She was here when they were announcing the cure, and now she's gone. Jaki?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll smell her out." Jaklyn turned her face towards the hallway, the wolfish image waving over her face again, just like it did whenever she used her powers out of wolf form. "She's headed towards the Professor. She's excited. Probably about the cure."

"What?" several of her friends exclaimed simultaneously.

Jaklyn shrugged. "I don't know _why _she's excited, although I could guess it's because she would like to touch someone, I just smell the emotions." She looked at Bobby, a slight wave of dizziness swishing through her head. Moving her eyes too quickly still did that to her. "Let me know if she's OK?" When Bobby nodded and headed towards the study were the Professor and Storm were talking with Beast, Jaklyn turned to Mina. "We should go check on Silence."

Kitty and Piotr got to work trying to calm the younger kids down as Jaklyn and Mina headed off in search of their friend. She wasn't in any of her favourite places, so she had to be in her room. Indeed she was, and there was a large blue suitcase open on her bed and she was throwing clothes into it haphazardly.

"What are you doing?" Jaklyn demanded, stepping between Silence and her suitcase and getting hit with a pair of jeans in the process.

"What's it look like? I'm packing."

"Where are you going?" Mina asked.

"San Francisco. I have to stop Warren from getting the cure."

Mina leapt forward, wrapping her arms around her friend, restraining her and hugging her at the same time. "I didn't mean it, Si! He probably won't get the cure! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that."

Silence pushed Mina away. "No, you shouldn't have, but I'm not mad at you. You don't know Warren. He'll do anything his father asks him to, and his father _will_ ask him to get the cure. And Warren will. Unless I've rubbed off on him at all…" She sounded hopeful, but Jaklyn didn't think Silence believe her own words.

"I'm sure you have…" Mina sighed. "Silence, don't go," she pleaded. "Phone him or whatever, but don't leave. If you get there and he's already got the cure, what are you going to do? You _can't _get to San Francisco quick enough to stop him. And if you get there and he hasn't gotten the cure, how are you going to stop him? If he's as devoted to his father as you said, than he won't listen to you." Mina was getting worked up. She didn't want Silence to leave and she didn't want her friend to be hurt.

"She's right," Jaklyn said, sitting on Silence's bed and closing her suitcase. "Why don't you phone him and see how he's doing?"

Silence sighed again and sat down beside Jaklyn on her bed. "I just don't know what to do. I'm so… angry at Warren's father. I can't believe he'd do this. I mean, I knew he hated mutants, but… This is so extreme. And… a cure? We're not a disease… And if Warren gets this cure, it'll be like he's calling me a disease and I can't think he'd do that. He's so… Well… I don't know; you'd have to meet him."

"He won't get the cure if you call him, Silence." Jaklyn wrapped her arm around Silence's shoulders from one side and Mina, who was sitting on the other side of Silence did the same. "If he cares about you, Silence, he'll listen to you. And he's gotta be smarter than to get the cure, especially if you're dating him."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

* * *

"Where are we going again?" Andell asked, shifting uncomfortably on the floating metal platform Magneto was using as transportation for the three of them. "And why do we have to travel there like this?"

Magneto smiled, making their platform rise a little higher. "You don't like flying, my dear?"

"I like flying just fine. In a plane. Where I can't see what's below me unless I look out a window. I'm a little acrophobic." Andell shivered and pulled her leather jacket tighter around her, pressing her fists deeper into her pockets. " And I know that doesn't make any sense because I can't die from falling. I'd just heal. It's an irrational fear, I know. But _why_ can't we travel in a _car_?"

"This is more fun." Magneto looked over his shoulder at her, smiling his British-sarcasm smile. "Sit down,

Andell, and close your eyes. We're almost there. Besides, I'll catch you if you fall. You are made of metal, my dear."

"Yeah, yeah."

Andell sat down and crossed her legs underneath her. She folded her arms underneath her breasts and closed her eyes, trying not to think about the ground whizzing by underneath her. The small group got to Boston about twenty minutes later and, as she stepped off the platform, Andell almost kissed the ground. Magneto led the way into an old, abandoned church, Andell and Pyro following a step behind him on either side. There was a massive gathering of people inside, sending Andell's powers into overdrive. Pressures of all kinds bombarded her from all angels: old, new, feral, hot, cold, human, watery, volcanic… There were close to a hundred mutants in there, as well as some humans, and Andell's head was starting to hurt.

"Bring yourself under control, Andell," Magneto said quietly.

She watched impatiently as some random mutant addressed the gathered group. He was trying to convince them that the cure wasn't mandatory and the humans weren't out to get them. Magneto got progressively more irritated as he spoke, but as soon as he took the stage, he calmed down and proceeded to bring the assembled mutants over to his side. According to Magneto, the humans would draw first blood and they did mean for the cure to be used against them. While Andell didn't really care, and she didn't really believe Magneto's words, she was surprised at the number of pressures she could feel shifting, changing, believe in Magneto.

"He's right you know," Pyro whispered from beside her. "The humans are all out to get us."

Andell ran her tongue over her teeth. "Mhm, whatever."

The young man bristled and Andell almost laughed. "What? Are you a human sympathizer? Do you _want _them to destroy us?"

"Oh, yeah, that's what I want." She suppressed the urge to backhand him, knowing how much she could damage his "pretty face". "I'm here aren't I?" Andell sighed and turned so she was facing the fiery young man. "I don't really care what happens with the whole cure thing. I'm here because Magneto knows something about Wolverine, and I'm sticking around until he tells me what that is. I'll leave when I'm ready to leave, and that'll have nothing to do with this cure."

"You sound exactly _like_ Wolverine."

"You know him?"

"I used to live in the same mansion as him. He's an ass."

"I don't care what his personality is like. I just want to know where he is so I can kick his ass for doing this to me." To emphasize her point, Andell extended her claws and stuck them close to Pyro's face. "It's because of him that my life was ruined. So, if you know where he is, tell me, or I'll gut you like a fish and then eat your insides. Do you know where he is?" Andell could feel her anger getting out of control, so she shoved it back down. "Well?"

Pyro frowned at her claws and took a step backwards. "The last time I saw him, we were up by Alkali Lake, stopping Stryker from destroying the mutant race. He doesn't like to stay in one place for too long, so he could have gone back to the mansion, but I don't know. Now put your claws away before you hurt someone." He scowled and headed towards the edge of the stairs where Magneto was descending. "Are you sure we need to keep her around?" he asked in a whisper.

Andell heard Magneto say, "She'll stay as long as she needs us." And then he smiled over Pyro's shoulder at her. She rolled her eyes.

As the trio moved to leave the church, a group of leather-clad, tattooed mutants approached, scowls on their faces. Their leader was slim and fairly tall, and her dark faced was twisted into a frown of disbelief. She took up a stance behind Magneto, Pyro and Andell and cleared her throat, signaling that she wanted to speak to the all-mighty master of metal. When Magneto turned around, he was smiling in his smug way and Pyro was tensed up, waiting to lunge at the slightest sign of issue. Andell rolled her eyes and walked outside the church as some sort of debate went down, not wanting to become involved.

Outside, it was very dark and it was raining slightly. The only streetlight nearby the old church was long-since burned out, but it was quiet. Andell leaned against the outside wall and let the rain soak through her hair and run down beneath her leather jacket. She sighed heavily, wondering what exactly she was becoming involved in, when all she wanted was to find Wolverine and take a chunk out of him. Magneto was raising some kind of army to wage some kind of war against the humans, about some kind of cure, and Andell didn't understand any of it. She was smart, but she didn't pay attention to all that went on in the world, to current events. She didn't know anything about the cure, and she didn't care. Her life – or the life that was stolen from her – was all that she cared about right now. Andell _needed _to find Wolverine and she _needed _to find out what he knew, and most of all, she _needed _revenge. It was because of him that she didn't remember her children. It was because of him that she didn't know who she was. The only reason she knew her real name was because Stryker told her as he woke her up, as he had told her he'd ruined her life.

_What the hell am I doing here? _She looked sideways at a stained glass window. _What the hell am I getting myself involved in? I need to find Wolverine. I just need to get that over with so I can get on with my life. I don't want to get involved in any fight… _Andell pushed herself off the wall and started walking towards the door of the church they entered. _I wish my powers weren't limited. I wish I could just find Wolverine. I wish I didn't have to __**rely **__on anyone else. _

"Andell, we're leaving."

"Right." She fell in step beside Magneto, and she didn't fail to notice the young leather-clad mutants were following as well. "What are they doing here?" she asked, her voice snapping.

Magneto kept his smug smile on his face. "Calisto is going to track down Mystique for me, and then we are going to go find her."

"And you couldn't use me because…?"

"My dear, your powers are limited, hers are not. If I knew where Mystique was, I would use you, but I have no idea where they have taken her, so I need to locate her first. Your powers will be useful as soon as we know where she is."

"OK. Well, you'd better hope you find her before I find Wolverine, because I'm leaving as soon as I find him. Or you tell me where he is or _someone _tells me where he is." Andell looked pointedly at Pyro and than crossed her arms and stepped onto the metal platform. "I wish we could travel by car. This is so… _overkill_." With a sigh and ignoring Magneto's laugh, she sat down and closed her eyes as the platform lurched into flight.

"Why are you working with her? She can't even handle a little flying."

Andell opened her purple eyes and looked at Calisto, the one who had spoken. Instead of retaliating – mostly because she felt like she was going to throw up – she just settled herself with knowing she'd never ask Calisto to help her find Wolverine, even though that would be the easiest way. She didn't like Calisto; the young girl was obsessed with people knowing she was a mutant, she was proud and arrogant and a _bitch. _No one on the platform said anything, but Pyro, in his infinite complexity, decided to sit down as well, on his side of the platform; decided to show support for someone he didn't know well at all.

* * *

"She's moving."

"They've developed a moving prison." It wasn't a question or a realization. It was a statement and Magneto wasn't very happy. He rose to his feet and moved to stand in front of Calisto. "You will point me in the right direction, and Pyro, Andell and I will head out and free Mystique."

"Why can't we go?" she asked, extending her arms to the sides, gesturing to her friends. Andell seemed to recall their names were Arclight and Kid Omega.

"Because I said so. Now where is she?"

Calisto sighed, defeated. "She's on a road in Utah, North of Salt Lake City."

Magneto nodded his thanks and turned to where Pyro and Andell were standing against a wall. "We head out immediately," he said and Pyro and Andell ascended the stairs after Magneto's flowing cape.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Pyro knew what she was talking about. "Don't mention it."

"Right."

"I don't trust them. I don't trust you either, but you're doing things for yourself, and… Well-"

"You don't have to say anything, Pyro. I know what you're talking about." Andell flashed him a quick smile as they broke into the forest. "I'm not going to rat out you or Magneto or anything, don't worry."

"I don't worry."

Magneto pulled up another platform and they followed him onto it. The older man ignored Andell and Pyro as they sat on the back of the platform and talked quietly. "Can I ask how you ended up with Magneto? There's something to your pressure… You weren't always with him."

"I told you I lived at the same mansion as Wolverine. It was a school. I left." He sighed, as if debating whether or not to tell her this information. Pyro wasn't a very social person. "I left everything because I didn't belong there anymore. I didn't fit in and I didn't believe. Magneto… I believe in what he said and what he was fighting for. And I'm going to fight with him until we win, because I don't think humans and mutants can exist at the same time in the same areas."

"Right."

Andell didn't believe that was true. But she didn't care, did she?


	4. Chapter Four: Risen From the Dead

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Four / _Risen From the Dead _

* * *

They were in class when it hit them.

It was an extreme amount of psychic pressure, worse than the one from a few days ago. Some of the younger psychics fell from their chairs, and everyone, everywhere in the mansion experienced momentary but brutal headaches. And no one knew where it had come from. Certainly, it hadn't come from anyone in the mansion. The older students were in the library doing research for their history essays when it happened, and the wave of pressure made all of them scream and sent Jaklyn to the floor in what looked like a seizure, but what her friends knew was another fit relating to her mutation. Whatever had caused the pressure was bigger, more powerful than the filters the professor had put in place, therefore, bigger and more powerful than the Professor. Jaklyn was still in a fit when it passed, her clawed fingers digging at the hardwood and her face twisted.

"Jaklyn!" Piotr flew to his knees beside her on the floor just as Storm and Logan ran by the door, heading for the Professor's office. "Jaki." He gabbed her by the shoulders, trying to stop her violent twitching. "Come on, Jaki…" _Come on, come on… Jaki, don't do this. Those filters were supposed to work… _The big Russian shook his girlfriend gently, muttering softly and holding her close until she calmed. "Oh God, Jaklyn." Piotr was very aware of the others standing around him as he stood up, pulling Jaklyn with him and easily sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. He continued to hold her close, afraid she would slip into the comatose state again.

"Is she OK?" Mina asked, moving closer. She placed her hand on Jaklyn's arm, a worried look on her face. "That shouldn't have happened. Those filters… She's not in a coma again, is she?" Mina's hand tightened on Jaklyn's arm, tears hovering in her eyes.

"Relax Mi, she'll be fine." Silence didn't look so sure, but her voice was confident. "Whoever that wave came from has to be stronger than the Professor, or else his powers wouldn't have failed. I didn't think anyone could be stronger than the Professor." The red-head also stepped closer to her friend and placed a hand on her leg, rubbing gently. "Hopefully that was just a momentarily failure." She wasn't talking to anyone in particular, just hoping.

"I'll go and get the Professor," Bobby volunteered.

Piotr nodded and sat down on a nearby couch, shoving the books onto the floor. Silence and Mina sat on either side of him, Kitty ran to the bathroom to get a wet cloth to wipe the sweat from Jaklyn's unconscious face and Rogue stood off to the side, watching with a look more detached than usual. Kitty returned and knelt on the floor in front of the couch, swiftly wiping down Jaklyn's face, neck and chest. Bobby was only gone a minute, and when he came back, Professor Xavier wheeled in behind him and moved right up to the couch, touching his hand lightly to Jaklyn's forehead. He was silent for a while, but there was a loud whirring in everyone's ears, telling them that Storm and Logan had taken the jet and were probably going after whatever had caused the psychic wave.

"She will be fine," he said finally, once the noises from the jet had passed. "The filters were only disrupted, not destroyed." The Professor offered his most reassuring smile to the students around him, but there was a distant look in his eyes. There was very obviously something else on his mind. "It shouldn't happen again."

"What caused that wave, Professor?" Mina asked, her hand now on Jaklyn's shoulder.

The Professor's mouth curled into a contemplative frown and he folded his hands in his lap. Piotr knew that look – Professor Xavier was debating weather or not to tell them the truth, or everything he knew about the truth. "Something at Alkali Lake," was all he said before wheeling from the room, leaving a group of bewildered students in his wake.

"That can't be good," Kitty breathed, wiping the cool cloth over Jaklyn's face again. She hadn't been there a few months ago, but she knew what had gone down at the lake – nothing good.

"No. It's definitely not good." Silence rose to her feet, putting her hands on her hips. She looked out the window. "Jean's body is the only thing psychic left at Alkali Lake. But she's dead. Residual power?" she asked the air around her. Silence loved puzzles, and this was about as good as they got. After a moment, she sat back down and folded her arms over her chest. "That's impossible."

"Nothing's impossible," Mina whispered.

"What the hell happened?" Everyone turned at the same time as Jaklyn's cobalt eyes fluttered open. "God, my head hurts." She rubbed her eyes and sat up in Piotr's lap, leaning into him more and grimacing as the light stung her eyes.

"You had another fit," Bobby informed her somberly.

"Shit. Does that mean the filters aren't working?" Her voiced was panicked.

"The Professor said they were just disrupted, and it shouldn't happen again." Mina hugged her friend. "You scared the hell out of all of us."

After everyone was sure Jaklyn was going to be OK, Piotr picked her up and took her upstairs to her room where she could rest. He sat on the end of her bed, one hand on her calf and his eyes on the half-finished painting on her easel. She was painting the faces of the older students in a sort of collage to give to the Professor when they left at the end of the summer. So far, Silence, Mina and Bobby had been painted completely, base colours were down on Piotr and herself and Kitty and Rogue and a few others were sketched out in pencil, waiting to be coloured. It was a beautiful piece of work full of realism and emotion. Even thought he knew what a talented artist Jaklyn was, and he knew he could do much the same thing with his own artistic talents, Piotr was very impressed. He had watched Jaklyn as she painted and she was pouring everything into the portraits.

"Your painting is coming along nicely," he said, quietly.

She smiled as she stretched. "I don't know if I'm going to finish it in time. But I think I'll give it to the Professor regardless." Jaklyn yawned and rolled onto her side, bunching her pillow under her head, so she could look at Piotr easier. "It scares me that we only have a few more months here and then we have to go out into like, the real world. I'm not ready to leave the mansion."

Piotr stretched out on the bed beside her so their faces were even. He brushed some hair out her face and smiled warmly at her, leaving his hand on her cheek, gently stroking back and forth with his thumb. "Don't worry about it Jaki. I don't think it will be as bad as we think it's going to be."

Jaklyn shifted closer to him so she could bury her face in the soft fabric of his t-shirt. "I know, but it still sucks. I finally start to get comfortable in this place and I have to leave." She sighed. "I applied to all the close schools, so if I get accepted at one of them, I can still live her and help out whenever they need me. You know, that sort of thing." She sighed again, her one hand curling into a fist against his chest. "It's just frustrating."

Piotr wished there was something more he could do besides hold her and tell her it would be OK. The fact was he was frustrated and worried about what was going to happen too. He didn't know if it _would _be OK, no one did. He wanted to be able to reassure her, but he knew how much she needed that after all she'd been through in her life. None of the older students wanted to leave the mansion, their home. If they were given the choice, they would have stayed to help teach the younger students. They would have taken on duties as the X-Men. There was nothing else Piotr could say or do, except give hope that things would work out for the best. Piotr just wrapped his arms around Jaklyn's waist and held her close. He kissed the top of her head and then tilted her head up and kissed her on the mouth.

"Do you think the progressions in my mutation could be due to stress?" Jaklyn asked suddenly.

Piotr shrugged. Up until then, he hadn't realized how much the fits were bothering Jaklyn. She was really worried she was going to loose control and attack someone. "It's possible I guess."

"I should go ask the Professor." She sat up and shoved her feet back into her slippers. As she rose to her feet, she ran her fingers through her blue-black hair, which had recently lost a foot and a half of its length and now fell to the middle of her back. "Coming?"

Piotr followed her down the stairs from her tower room. When they reached the second floor, there was a flurry of activity and no one seemed to be able to tell the couple what was going on. Piotr had heard the jet return a few minutes ago, so, whatever Logan and Storm had brought back was cause for excitement. When Mina tore by, Piotr grabbed her arm and demanded to know what everyone was so excited about.

"Storm and Logan found Jean! She's alive! Jean's alive!" There were tears of happiness in Mina's eyes.

Piotr saw the exhilaration rush through Jaklyn and smiled as she took off after Mina. He followed the girls down to the infirmary where Jean was lying unconscious on the examination table with senses hooked up to her head and body, monitoring her stats and her brain activity. The Professor sat in his chair beside the table, a worried and thoughtful look on his face. On the other side of the table, Storm stood holding Jean's hand and crying silently, and beside her stood Logan, a look of disbelief on his normally placid face. All of the students had gathered around, smiling, crying and whispering at their teacher and friend, back from the dead.

Scott, the person who would have been most excited, wasn't there.

* * *

Logan wasn't happy.

Jaklyn was. She couldn't believe that Jean was alive, that she was OK. Jean had helped her learn about her mutation, and probably knew more about it than Jaklyn did. Maybe Jean could help her with her mutation problems. No, she _knew _Jean could help her. Jean could _always _help. She was very happy, ecstatic even to see the fiery haired women back at the mansion. But she had expected Logan to be euphoric. He wasn't. Sure, there was happiness there, but it wasn't forefront. It was hidden underneath anger, fear and uncertainty. Assuring Piotr that she was OK, she walked across the room and stood beside Logan, ignoring the looks from the other students, who didn't quite understand the relationship between them.

"You OK?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet.

"Go away, Half-pint," he grumbled. Abrasive. Definitely not a good time to talk. Logan wasn't just angry, and afraid. He was pissed off and terrified.

She paused and gently touched his arm. She was his friend, and she would listen to whatever he had to say. "Fine." She started to walk away and then stopped and turned around. "I haven't sensed anything, by the way. You're your ass is safe for now." Jaklyn walked back over to Piotr. "Something's not right." Her face bunched in thought.

"For once, I can sense exactly what you're sensing. Did you notice Scott's not here?"

Jaklyn had, but she only nodded. She folded her arms across her chest and listened at the professor told them to stay away from the infirmary so they could make sure Jean was stable. She listened as Mina asked how she could have survived and as the professor told her it had to do with her mutation. As the professor's mood became darker, Jaklyn sensed that Jean wasn't going to be able to help her after all, that there was something terribly wrong with the woman on the table. As the mutants started to file out of the infirmary towards the elevator, Jaklyn fell in step beside Professor Xavier.

"Can I help you Jaklyn?" he asked, his voice darker than usual.

"I was just wondering if my… problem could be due to stress."

The Professor thought for a moment. "I suppose it's possible, but I can't say for sure. I've never seen someone's mutation jump forward like yours has. It's likely stress has helped the process along, but I can't tell you were the root of the problem is. Your mind looks fine." Professor Xavier stopped moving and turned so he could look up at Jaklyn. "The filters I put in place will let your mutation progress at a rate easier for your body to handle, and once your mutation has reached its limit, I'll take the filters out. No, I don't know how long it will take." The Professor smiled as Jaklyn realized he had read her mind. "I'll see you later Jaklyn," he said as he wheeled away, falling back into his deep thoughts.

Piotr appeared beside Jaklyn. "What did he say about the stress?"

"He's not sure if that has anything to do with it. What can I do if the Professor's not even sure what's wrong with me?" Jaklyn huffed and started to walk away, grunting angrily when Piotr grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Hey, let me go. I was trying to storm away angrily."

"If you think stress is a factor, don't get worked up about it. That would be a bad idea." Piotr took her other wrist in his other hand and held her in place. There weren't many who could resist his strength, even when he wasn't covered in metal. "Just relax, Jaki. Silence, Mina, Kitty, Bobby and I aren't going to let anything happen to you, and I don't think Logan would either. Just go back to living life the way you were before this started and things will work out. You're safe."

"How do you know?" Jaklyn scrunched her face up.

"I just do. So relax. OK?"

"_Fine._" Jaklyn smiled and pulled her hands away from Piotr so she could fling her arms around his neck and kiss him passionately. "But if anything happens to me…"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll kill me. Let's just go back upstairs."

* * *

Warren shifted uneasily in the elevator. Somehow, his father had talked him into getting the cure, and now, he was heading up the family's building to have a needle stuck in his arm and loose his wings. He wasn't really sure how his father had convinced him to do this, but he knew his father didn't want his son to be a mutant, he never had, and Warren knew his father was ashamed of him. He couldn't live with that hanging over his head any longer. He didn't want to be a source of shame for the only remaining member of his family.

As the elevator doors slid open, his wings twitched, pulling against the harness he wore underneath his trench-coat, and with the twitch came the image that always came when he thought about his wings. Silence. Warren paused in the hallway and closed his eyes. He knew what Silence would say if she found out he'd given into his father's wishes. She'd tell him to do what _he _wanted to, but she would be very angry if he got rid of his wings; Silence loved his wings. What would he say to her after he'd got the cure? He could picture her smile deforming into a frown and the fire flickering in her eyes. He didn't like seeing her angry, and he didn't want her angry at him, but he couldn't stand to have his father ashamed of him any longer, to have his father be afraid to come too close to him.

Doctor Kavita Rao, the woman in charge of developing the cure, appeared around the corner and smiled at Warren. "Ah good, you're here. How are you feeling today, Warren?"

"Fine," he mumbled.

"That's good. I'll go and let your father know you've arrived."

He watched her white coat disappear around the same corner and slowly, he followed her path. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on the cool glass pane of the door and pushed, very much afraid of what might be on the other side and of what was to come. Warren smiled unsurely at his father.

"Hello son," Warren Worthington the Second said, mustering the most friendly smile he could.

"Hey Dad," he said as he removed his coat. Two big men wrapped their hands around Warren's arms and pushed him backwards onto a examination table, tilted on his side. As the men began to strap him down, panic rose inside him and Warren began to struggle. "Dad." His father just looked at him, a small smile on his face. "Dad, wait, can we talk about this?" Images of Silence kept flashing through his mind. He knew he was just doing this for his father. He couldn't do it. Why had he even agreed? "Dad." No response besides a feeble attempt at calming him down. Kavita walked towards him with a large needle, and her lips were moving, but Warren couldn't hear anything. He was too afraid. "Dad, no, I can't do this. I can't!" With a sudden flush of resolve, Warren pulled away from the board, and landing on the floor. As he unfolded himself into an upright position, his wings gave a violent lurch and broke free from their harnesses and spread to their full span, nearly knocking Kavita and one of the big men in the face.

"Warren, what are you doing? It's a better life. It's what we all want."

Warren stared at his father, for the first time seeing him as all the other mutants must. A monster. Someone trying to wiped the earth of another unwanted race. "No Dad," his spat. "It's what you want."

He was dimly aware of his father yelling as he took off towards the huge window. The glass shattered around him in a dramatic display and the resounding thrum of his wings beating the air filled his ears. In spite of himself, Warren smiled as he swept down low over the Bay of San Francisco, trailing his fingers in the chilly water for a moment before heading up towards the sky. Freedom felt good.

But what to do now? Where would he go?

Silence popped into his head again, but this time, he thought of the first time they'd met, in Central Park. She'd talked about Xavier's mansion, told him how it was the only safe place for mutants to live, how he would be welcomed if he showed up. That was where he would go. Silence would be happy and his father wouldn't know where to look for him. He turned, heading for home, where he'd gather his things before heading to New York.

* * *

Magneto looked ridiculous standing in the middle of the road, waiting for the moving prison to come with effective range of his powers. Calisto had given Magneto the area, and once they had entered it, Andell had led him directly to a spot where they could intercept the convoy. Andell and Pyro were standing off to the side of the road to avoid being hit when Magneto started throwing vehicles around, and they were both watching the man in the middle of the road intently. Pyro was flicking his lighter on and off, on and off, impatient to see some action. Andell was crouched comfortably, watching and waiting and thinking how stupid the authoritative man looked; that impression only increased as he raised his arms at something she couldn't see.

Underneath the nearly identical pressures of the guards and the drivers in the convey, there were three distinct pressures, obviously belonging to mutants. Mystique's pressure was wild and restless, echoing her shape-shifting abilities, the largest pressure was intense, strong and brutish, and the last pressure was a little calmer than the others, and free with a bit of dark edge. _These three are going to be interesting,_ Andell mused. As the bed of the truck slid to a stop, Pyro nudged Andell and the two of them headed out to meet Magneto in the deserted street.

"Andell, you stay at the entrance," Magneto said as they ascended the steps into the truck. "Keep watch. One of the guards might have lived, and we don't want any interruptions."

"Right."

Andell's purple eyes locked onto a pair of bright yellow ones at the other end of the trailer as she leaned on the wall. She smiled and received a devious grin in reply; she already liked Mystique. Magneto levitated a clipboard into Pyro's hands so he could tell him who was in the other two cells. In the one closest to Andell was a young-ish man with black hair and a permanent smirk on one side of his mouth – Jaime Madrox. He was the one with the free pressure, and as he stepped out of the cell, creating six copies of himself in the process, Andell could see why. She suppressed a laugh as he scanned Mystique's scaled but otherwise naked body.

"And who are you?" he asked, stepping in front of Andell.

"None of your business." She smiled as energy cackled around her crossed arms.

"Whatever you say, Sparky."

Andell watched Jaime walk out into the street and stretch his arms to the sky. She smiled again, this time to herself and then turned her attention to the other man in the trailer. He was huge and brutish, just like his pressure. His name was Cain Marko and he seemed to be a bit of an ass. Andell bared her teeth as he turned his gaze towards her and felt the urge to stab him with her claws as he laughed. _Stupid ass. He'll get his. _More energy fizzled around her.

What happened next happened too quickly.

Too late, Andell caught the movement behind her and watched, in horror, as Mystique stepped in the way of a cure dart aimed at Magneto's back. Andell barely had time to jump out of the trailer as Pyro sent a column of flame tumbling out the back. The last thing she saw was the blue woman falling to the ground, twitching violently and making guttural noises of pain. Jaime, or a copy of Jaime, managed to catch Andell before she smacked into the pavement, and as he steadied her, Magneto's metallic pressure suddenly became full of grief; an emotion she knew he wouldn't show on the outside. When the last of the fire cleared, she stood on her tiptoes and saw a naked woman with raven-black hair lying curled on the ground. She had been Mystique.

"I guess these guys mean business," Jaime said, moving to stand beside Andell. He looked sideways at her. "You OK Sparky?"

Surprisingly, even to herself, Andell found she didn't mind the nickname. She nodded. "I'm fine. I would have been fine even if you had let me hit the pavement." She didn't elaborate, just smiled smugly. When Magneto exited the trailer, Pyro and Cain Marko – had he called himself Juggernaut? – in tow, she offered a small smile. Magneto would know she knew how he felt. He declined his chin slightly in reply and Andell and Jaime fell in step behind the others.

* * *

Andell sighed and leaned against the trunk of the tree. She was fairly high up, using the height to survey the rapidly expanding camp. The tents had moved out of the clearing and were crammed in between tree trunks. Some of the mutants didn't have tents and just slept on sleeping bags or blankets on the ground. She had moved out of Magneto's underground hideout and into a tent she'd bought in the nearest town, which wasn't very near. Somehow, she had ended up sharing the tent with Jaime, whose mutant name, or "real" name as Magneto liked to call it, was Multiple Man. The sun, somewhere high above the massive trees, shone through the leaves, giving everything a greenish tint. If she hadn't know the motives for attack, she would have thought the scene peaceful.

"Hey Sparky!" Jaime yelled from the bottom of the tree.

She looked down at him, waved him to move out of the way and then jumped, landing with a thud that would have broken anyone else's legs. But her bones, laced with Adamantium, couldn't break. "What do you want?" she asked as the scratches over her body healed.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see you jump from way up there."

Andell cuffed him on the back of the head lightly. "Asshole." She looked at him, smiling. "How'd you get your mutant name?"

He shrugged, the leather of his jacket creaking. "I kind of just made it up. I think that's how most of us get our names. Why? Don't you have one?" he asked, like the concept was one of the most ridiculous things he'd ever heard.

"No, I don't."

Jaime sat down on a log and Andell did the same. "You could take Sparky, I wouldn't sue."

"My name is _not _Sparky."

"Well then, you're just going to have to come up with one on your own."

Andell nodded and fell into silent thought. She could manipulate energy, heal and she had Adamantium claws. What had she done with those powers? She's killed many people, hurt countless more and she had abandoned her families. Somewhere, she had two kids who had families of their own, and she knew nothing about them. She hadn't done much good with her powers or with her life. Sin was appropriate. "Sin," she said out loud. "That's my name."

Jaime gave her a sideways look. "I'm not even going to ask, Sparky."

She cuffed him on the head again, harder this time.

* * *

**Author's Note… **OK, so it's not that great, but it's a chapter, and a not-so-great chapter is better than no chapter at all. I apologize for not updating this one in a while. My internet got cut off and I was having a Batman-thing. Well, I'm always having a Batman0 thing, but normally, there's room for other things. For a while, there wasn't. Anyways, the next chapter will be better, although it too might take a while because I have midterms and stuff to study for. It shouldn't be too bad though. Enjoy.

Next Chapter: **Gone, Gone, Gone**.


	5. Chapter Five: Gone, Gone, Gone

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

**EDIT: **I ADDED IN THE ESCAPE OF PHOENIX SO NOW IT'S THERE! I felt so stupid for forgetting it before...

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Five / _Gone, Gone, Gone_

* * *

When the Phoenix woke up, she wasn't happy. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't know what was going on. She searched Jean's memories and discovered a mental map and flickers of a happy life surrounded by eager students and friendly face. _Ick. No fun at all. _

When the Phoenix was refused by Logan, she wasn't happy. She had sensed in Jean, in the other part of her, a deep attraction to this being, and had thought being with him would make her happy, make her shut up inside the Phoenix's head, but she was wrong. Jean had protested and then Logan had pulled away because she wasn't herself, she wasn't Jean. _Pah. He's no fun either. _

Now, striding through the streets, fire flickering in her eyes, she was happy. _Ha. It's time to have some fun. _

* * *

"I told you the humans would draw first blood." Magneto sighed and spun the gun in his hands again. The motion was starting to annoy Andell, but she wasn't going to say anything. Magneto _had _been right. "And they will draw much, much more before this is all over. We'll just have to draw more…" He wasn't really speaking to Andell, Pyro, Juggernaut or Jaime, but that didn't matter. They were standing in an arc in front of his desk listening attentively incase he decided to issue commands. "We'll use this-" he stuck the gun out towards them "-to bring mutants to our cause. We will gather an army."

"There's a veritable lot of us already here," Andell pointed out. "How many more mutants do you want?" She had an uneasy feeling Magneto _wanted _a full-fledged war, no matter how many times he said he didn't want violence. _He just wants to rule the world, like __**every **__stereotypical bad guy. What the __**hell **__am I still doing here? _At this point, Andell could have left and gone to Xavier's Mansion and hunted Wolverine from there, assuming he wasn't _at _the mansion. She also knew why she stayed – she was having _fun. _Being close to Magneto and his power was intoxicating.

"Many more." He smiled his Magneto smile, the I-know-everything smile and Andell smiled back. "Quantity. In our case, quantity is the best option." He set the gun in the exact middle of his desk and rose to his feet, the metal chair screeching against the metal floor as it moved. "Unless we manage to gather some very powerful mutants, of course." His smile shifted into something else, and Andell knew that he was very close to becoming dangerously drunk with his own power.

Andell rolled her eyes and slid onto the top of the desk. "Whatever you say, Neato-Magneto."

He just smiled. He was irritatingly smug sometimes, as if he knew some secret the others in the room didn't. "Just wait and see my dear. Thousands will flock to our camp and thousands will fight with us. We _will _win. The homo sapiens can not resist us any longer."

An unsteady silence settled on the room. Pyro, who was standing closest to Andell, had taken to keeping an angry silence ever since he'd witnessed Magneto abandonment of Mystique. He was afraid for his own position. Andell knew as long as he remained a mutant, no one was going to abandon or replace him. Pyro's anger seemed only amplified by the dark haired man standing on the other side of Andell – Jaime. There was some unsavoury history between the two, and even though Andell was curious as to what it was, she didn't ask. She was confident she'd find out eventually. Jaime _liked _to talk and Pyro _would _talk if Andell initiated conversation; they had reached some common ground and were sort-of friends.

_The people here are weird, _she mused, turning her gaze to Juggernaut and getting a suggestive grin in return. _And __**what **__is with the men around here? They're all horny bastards. _"I'm going for a walk," she announced, sliding off the desk and heading for the stairs.

"I'll come with you," Jaime volunteered, stirring from his stone-like pose and falling in beside her.

"No – you're not." She sent a light jolt of electricity towards him, hitting him in the stomach.

The others in the room laughed.

Recently, agitation had settled in Andell's gut, setting her on edge. She didn't like being in the underground headquarters for very long and she didn't like being surrounded by others. There was something out there, always at the edge of her powers, pressing inward. It was a terrible pressure, but she couldn't identify anything about the mutant it belonged to. Not yet. She wasn't close enough. But not knowing was getting under her skin. And Calisto barging down the stairs, nearly running her over didn't help.

"Watch where you're going," Calisto snapped.

Andell rolled her violet eyes and pressed herself against the wall so the younger woman could pass. She kept a dangerous look on her face as Calisto's lackeys passed and took two steps towards freedom before Magneto grabbed her by the metal and stopped her from going any farther. A low growl hummed in her throat. He was playing with her, and power or no, that wasn't a good idea.

"Be patient, my dear. I think you _might_ want to hear this."

Calisto looked from Magneto and Andell and back again, confused; Andell hated Calisto's pressure as much as she hated Calisto. It was constantly moving and it didn't make any coherent sense. There was a falseness about it too. "I've picked something up," she said finally. "An electromagnetic force. It's huge – bigger than anything I've ever felt before."

The look that lit Magneto's face was a little more than slightly disturbing, and Andell turned away. "Andell, you and Multiple Man keep an eye on the camp." He turned back to Calisto, the strange light shining brilliantly in his eyes. "Where is she? Where is Jean?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

His hold on Andell snapped and she pressed on into the forest, scowling and growling loudly so that Calisto, Kid Omega, Psylocke and Arclight would hear; at the bottom of the stairs, Pyro smirked, enjoying Andell's hostility. Even though she had shocked him and expressed that she wanted to be alone, Jaime was right behind her and he followed her into the forest surrounding the camp. His pressure was thoughtful and a little confused, but still had the free quality that Andell liked. As they walked, his mood darkened slgihtly and pain started to creep in around the edges of his pressure until the point Andell's curiosity got the better of her and her judgment. She stopped ignoring him, turned around and asked:

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I just thought you could use some company."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." Jaime sighed, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his leather jacket. "Jean, the woman Magneto was talking about, is from Xavier's school." Jaime leaned against a nearby tree and folded his arms across his chest. "I knew her. And… well, that mansion…"

"Does the school have something to do with Pyro's intense dislike of you?" Andell sat on a flat-ish rock and flicked some of her dark hair out of her eyes. If Jaime insisted on following her, might as well get as much information out of him as possible.

"I dated his sister for a while."

"Oh." She scrunched up her face. "Aren't you a little old for Pyro's sister?"

"Oh _thanks_." Jaime smiled slyly. "But you wouldn't think that if you knew her. Silence is… something else. About twice as powerful as her brother because she can create fire and she's got about twice the attitude. Only difference is, she knows how to control it and Pyro doesn't. I saw them fight once – the mansion has this room built for training called the Danger Room – and Pyro and Silence, her codename is Blaze, nearly burnt the whole thing down." His eyes had taken on a distant, nostalgic look, and when he brought them back to Andell, she was smirking. "What's _that _look for?"

"You _miss_ her. But I'm going to guess it's _your _fault you two broke up."

The faintest blush crept into Jaime's cheeks as he shrugged. Then, he changed the topic. "So aren't you going to ask me about Wolverine? I know you're dying to know everything you can about him."

"I was getting around to it."

"Well, he's an ass."

"So I've heard," she mumbled, concentrating on Magneto's and Pyro's pressures moving away from the headquarters. Juggernaut, Calisto, Kid Omega and Arclight were moving as well. She guessed they were going after whoever Jean was. _Hell, she must be important or something. _"So, what else do you know about him?" she asked, shoving some of the forest debris around with the toe of her right boot.

"Besides that he's an ass? He's pretty much just like you. You've got the same attitude. It must be something to do with the whole Adamantium-claws thing."

"Whatever. You don't know if he's still at the mansion, do you?"

"Nope."

Andell sighed and pushed herself to her feet. Her and Jaime walked back towards the camp in silence. There was an outcrop of rock which formed a kind of stage visible from the entire camp. It was on this "stage" that they sat. The camp and grown even more, so a ridiculous amount of mutants moved about the forest beneath and around them and there was a constant drone of noise. Even at night, the camp was alive. The mutants who had flocked to Magneto's brotherhood were mostly rowdy and bloodthirsty. They all shared his views that the humans were beneath mutants. Andell hadn't met very many of them, but those she had she didn't like, so she spent all her time wandering the forest, in the headquarters with Magneto or another member of the "elite" Brotherhood members, or asleep in her tent; she was glad she could sleep through anything.

"Why are you here _Sin_?"

The inquiry was sudden and it caught Andell off guard. Jaime wasn't normally the type of person to pry into other's lives: if you wanted to be around him, that was cool with him and that was all the information he needed; he didn't care why. "What?"

Jaime leaned back on his hands, squinting against the sunlight that managed to get through the thick canopy of leaves above them. "You want to find Wolverine. You have a place a start looking, you don't believe what Magneto says and you do what you want. But you're still here. I don't get it. What are you still doing here?"

Andell shrugged.

* * *

"Would you _stop _looking at me like I might bloody die at any bloody minute!?"

"But what if you have a fit again? Someone's gotta be there if it happens," Mina said. "If you had a fit and no one was around, you might actually die. You can't see yourself in the fits. They're violent. It's scary."

The smaller girl wiggled farther into the corner of the couch, her arms wrapped around herself. Jaklyn was sitting at the other end of the couch, folded in on herself in much the same way. They had been sitting in the living room ever since The Professor had informed them Jean had woken up and left the mansion. He, Logan and Storm had left to find her and bring her back, and Xavier had been adamant that the students not accompany them. So, they were left, sitting around the mansion, wondering what was going on and what the future of their mentors and friends was going to be; The Professor had told them Jean's mind was in an unstable state and she was very dangerous. That only served to make Mina and the others worry.

Jaklyn sighed. "I'm sorry, Mina," she said, but she didn't really sound like she meant it.

And Mina didn't blame her. She could relate to the feelings she knew Jaklyn was having because she knew what it was like not to be in control of her powers. She _didn't _know what it was like to have your mutations leap forward way faster than they should have, however. "Jaki, I'm just worried about you, and I'm not the only one. Peter's worried about you, obviously, and so is Silence and Bobby and Kitty. Hell, Jaki, _everyone's _worried about you."

Silence entered the room, followed by Peter who was holding a tray of sandwiches. He set it on the table before sitting down beside Jaklyn and reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders as he would have normally. Jaklyn flinched, but didn't back away. After the initial contact, Jaklyn settled into Peter's side; Mina was painfully reminded of John and she had to look away.

"Well, the mood in here sure is dismal," Silence complained, falling into the empty chair closest to Mina.

"What d' ya want? Sunshine and rainbows?" Jaklyn snapped, a growl present in her voice. Since her mutations had progressed, her accent had vanished and a permanent roughness had replaced it along with a spontaneous growl.

"So-ory. I just hate seeing you all so _down_."

"How are you so _up_?" Jaklyn's eyes were turned away from everyone and focused on the wall.

"I'm _not. _I'm just trying to make you a little happier." Silence turned her bright crimson eyes to Mina. "Not to mention you. You've spent all your time worry about Jak since the first fit, and before that you were hiding your pain about St. John-what's-his-face, and you _never _talk about _anything_." Silence draped herself across the arms of the chair and stuck one leg in the air. "Things just seem to be falling apart."

No one said anything after that because, of course, Silence was right. Mina picked one of the sandwiches off the platter and nibbled at it, her mind wandering and a lump stuck in her throat. It wasn't like Silence to bring up John so casually, and Mina knew she hadn't been intending to hurt her, but she had, and the thoughts stung. Down the couch, Jaklyn shifted uncomfortably, turning so she wasn't facing the others and planted her eyes firmly in the wall. The room remained in silence as Mina finished her sandwich and started another, and it became quite uncomfortable.

"I can't take this anymore!" Mina finally said. "Would you _please _get over yourself? You're not going to have another fit." She regretted it as soon as she said it, but she didn't take it back.

But Jaklyn didn't respond anyway. When Mina looked at her, her friend had gone rigid. A moment later, there was a huge concussion, like thunder without sound. Silence fell from her awkward position on the couch, as did Mina, but not before she saw Peter wrap his arms around a convulsing Jaklyn. The concussion passed just as quickly as thunder would have, but Jaklyn's fit didn't stop. Mina and Silence scrambled to their feet and tried to wrap their arms around their friend, but were unsuccessful as Jaklyn growled and flailed, sending the other girls flying backwards. Peter closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, regretful as he shifted into his metal form, using the extra strength to restrain his girlfriend more completely.

Mina was in shock, she didn't know what to do. Silence's brain was already working.

"Let's put her in the holding room in the subbasement," she said. Silence's crimson eyes turned to Mina, and for a brief moment, an aura of flame flickered around her head. "Mina, could you hold her legs?" There was a tone of desperation in Silence's voice that Mina didn't like. "I'm going to open the room. Jean showed me how once. Just in case, you know?" And then she was gone, running full tilt towards the elevator.

* * *

Blood.

_No._

Blood. She wanted it.

_No. _

She needed it.

_No. _

Jaklyn pushed against her mutation; she had mentally manifested it as a dark blob and she fought to keep it at bay. The filters the Professor had put in place had broken. Shattered. They were gone. Not interrupted like when Jean had come back form the dead. They were _gone_. Jaklyn could only think of one reason they would disappear, and she did _not _want to think of _that, _not _then_, not _**ever**_. It was an inconceivable notion, and right then all she _could _worry about was getting herself under control. Now that she knew what was going on, she thought she could fight it, but it wasn't proving a fruitful experience.

She was aware of Piotr's metal arms around her and Mina, in the form of a snake of all things, wrapped around her legs, keeping her as still as possible; Jaklyn was very aware of her flailing and she was grateful her friends were taking steps to keep anyone from being hurt.

Blood.

_No!_

Let it go. Attack.

_**No!**_

Jaklyn growled and pushed harder. She didn't want to hurt anyone. She didn't want blood. Apparently, her mutation did. Or whatever she became when she went into a fit wanted. A momentary shock of freezing cold metal shocked her into a glimpse of reality and she realized she was in the holding room downstairs. Her cobalt eyes found Piotr's sad gaze and her heart wrenched, because she knew he was hurting seeing her like this and there was nothing she could do to make him feel better. She closed her eyes, pulled herself into the corner of the room and tried to withdraw in on herself. There was a wave of excruciating pain. Jaklyn screamed and tightened her fists until her claws punctured the skin on her palms and clenched her jaw until her fangs bit into her bottom lip.

It had to be true. There was no other way the filters could have broken. There was no other way she would be getting so much pain.

The Professor was dead.

* * *

Jaklyn had no idea how long it was until Logan and Storm returned with the Professor's empty chair. Even within her pain, she felt the wave of sadness that swept through the mansion, and she wailed all the harder. The Professor was dead. Gone. Jaklyn couldn't believe it. She didn't _want _to believe it, but she had to because she knew it was true. She fell into a daze, only marginally conscious of what was going on around her, of her situation, and she barely noticed when Logan appeared at the glass wall of the room.

"Half-pint?"

She growled, rolled her head around to show she knew he was there. She couldn't do anything else.

"Come on Half-pint. I know you're in there. You've got to snap out of this fit." Logan sighed and leaned against the glass pane, almost in defeat; it was almost if he knew she couldn't. Or maybe he was sad about the Professor…

A shock in Jaklyn's chest made her scream again and she leapt towards Logan, growling and pressing her fingers against the glass. She bared her teeth, the feral-ness in her mutation coming through full force, and Jaklyn, inside her head, tried her hardest to pull back but it was to no avail. _No, no, no, stop it! Stop it! _Jaklyn growled louder, pounding and clawing at the glass like some trapped animal. _God, __**stop it**_Nothing she screamed in her head was having any effect, but she could see in Logan's nonchalant stance and the way he casually smoked a cigar like he always did, that he wasn't afraid of her, that he wasn't pushed away by her fits.

"This is happening because the Professor died, isn't?" Logan asked, the question aimed at the air around him more than at Jaklyn. He sighed, took a long pull from his cigar and then extinguished it on his palm. "Maybe a good fight will bring you back to normal; siphon some of your excess energy off." Logan walked over to the control panel and pressed the release, letting the glass slide back into the wall. He caught Jaklyn by the throat as she leapt at him. "Come on, Half-pint."

Logan slammed her backwards into the wall, sending her into a daze and then he grabbed her by the back of her shirt and dragged her towards the Danger Room. Jaklyn flailed and scratched and tried to free herself from Logan's grasp, but every mark she made disappeared, and the older rugged man ignored her growls and screeches of protest. Upon entering the Danger Room, Logan threw her to the floor with enough force to momentarily daze her again, and without giving her time to recover, extended his claws and charged, sliding the Adamantium blades across the skin of her thigh and landing a solid stab to her right forearm. This wasn't Danger Room fighting where the injuries were only projected as real – this was real, hand-to-hand combat and Jaklyn, in the space of her mind where she was still herself, knew there was a very real chance she could die; she hadn't thought Logan could harm a teammate, a friend, but apparently she'd been wrong.

But her wounds healed as soon as his claws were gone.

"Well, that's a new one, Half-pint."

Jaklyn, still in her feral state, stared at her arm for a second before bending her legs and lunging forward, fingers braced to dig her claws into his flesh. Logan grabbed her by the wrist, using her own momentum to throw her to the ground and slam his booted foot into her stomach, making her contract. Recovering quickly, Jaklyn dug her claws into his ankle, piercing through his jeans. Wisely, she did not withdraw her claws, but pushed up, setting him off balance, dragging her claws upward through his flesh. When she was free, Jaklyn let herself transform into her werewolf state.

"Shit," she heard Logan mutter as she let him go and rose to her full height of close to seven feet – well over a foot above her normal height.

She roared; threw her head back and flexed her fingers. Jaklyn wrapped her hand around Logan's neck, lifted him two feet off the ground and threw him into the wall. There was a nasty crack and he slid to the floor, limp. The werewolf advanced, fangs exposed, exhaled breaths sounding more like growls than anything, and pinned him to the ground with the full force of one of her legs. She bent forward and wrapped her strong hands around his upper arms, holding tight enough to break normal bones, and slammed his head against the floor. Blood oozed from a wound she couldn't see, but the feral Jaklyn didn't care. He had hurt her, so she was going to hurt him. Bad.

Logan seemed to snap out of his daze in the blink of an eye and he immediately slid both sets of his claws into her stomach. "You can't kill me, Half-pint. Not like that." He pushed her backwards, withdrawing his bloody claws and landing a perfect and powerful sidekick in her solar plexus. "Come on. I know you've got more in ya than that."

Jaklyn lunged, wrapping her arms around his middle and tackling him to the floor again. Wolverine landed four consecutive punches to the sides of her face before rolling out from under her and driving his claws into her back over and over and over. Cries of agony arose from the beast beneath him and, after a moment more of the stabbing, she shifted back to her human form, completely naked except for a partial blanket of blood. There were tears on her face and she was breathing very heavily; every so often, her body would jolt in time with her sobs.

Logan settled on the floor beside her, cross-legged. "Half-pint?"

Inside her head, Jaklyn once again gained control. She felt… normal. There was a bubbling somewhere in the pit of her, but it wasn't coming up anytime soon. She didn't need the filters… Fighting would bring her back to normal. She rolled her head to face Logan. "The… The Professor?" she breathed between sobs. It was a pointless question – she knew the answer.

His hand found her shoulder and he gave it a gentle squeeze. "He's gone, Jaklyn." As she broke down, he stood up and pulled her into his arms. "You should get cleaned up. I'll go get Pete for you."

Jaklyn nodded against his chest.

Piotr was sitting across the hall from Jaklyn. They were in the subbasement, outside of the change rooms. She was dressed in sweat pants and a black tank top that he had brought down on Logan's orders, and her hair was wet from showering herself clean of blood and sweat – apparently she and Logan had gone at each other pretty bad, trying to snap her out of the fit. It had worked, but there was only a little rejoicing in the big Russian's mind. Professor Xavier was dead. He couldn't replace the filters in Jaklyn's head. He couldn't help her anymore. Piotr didn't know what that meant for his girlfriend, but he was afraid it would mean more fighting and he was afraid that that was the only way she could stay normal. He didn't want to fight her and he didn't want Logan to fight her anymore, because he didn't really trust either of them in a no-rules combat situation. They were both very animalistic and Jaklyn could get hurt. Unless of course what she was saying about her healing powers in her full-power state was true. Then she was almost as indestructible as Wolverine.

"Jaki, are you really OK?"

She looked at him from under her eyelids. "I'm fine, Piotr. Really." They sat across from each other a moment longer before she crawled across the cold floor and curled up beside him where she burst into tears. "No. No, I'm not fine. The Professor's dead and I'm a freak again. I can't control my own powers…" She buried her face in his chest.

He wrapped her arms around her as tight as he dared, stroked her hair, kissed her head. _What can I say? _he wondered as she continued to cry. _I have no idea what she's going through. I know what it feels like to loose someone, but she lost her parents and now she's lost the Professor. _"Jaki… I'm here for you. And so are Silence, Mina and the others. We won't let you go through this alone." He caught her gaze and made her look up at him. "Jaki, I love you."

For a second, it looked like she was going to cry harder, but then she pressed her face into his chest again and hugged him fiercely. "I love you too…" And then she did cry harder.

* * *

**Author's Note… **Sorry it took me so long. I was distracted by reading a super-special-awesome Batman fanfiction and by reading week, in which I did nothing but relax. It was beautiful. But, it's back to the grind now. Woo. See you in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter Six: Angel

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Six / _Angel_

* * *

The garden was bathed in warm sunlight and was near to the perfection of a painting, but none of the gathered students and friends noticed. Their eyes were all turned to the tall headstone with the embossed image of Professor Charles Xavier, and they were all listening to the sorrowful words coming from Ororo Munroe's mouth. Every few minutes, a sob would shutter through the air, and there was a constant whisper of crying hovering over the secluded garden. Doctor Moira McTaggart had flown down from Scotland with Forge, and Beast had returned to the mansion the day before. They sat at the far end of the front row. Filling out the row were the upper year students; the younger students filled up another section of chairs to the left. Bobby was holding Rogue's gloved hand in one of his own, and Kitty's in the other. Beside Kitty, Piotr sat, his attention divided between the funeral and the upper floor balcony where he could just see the top of Logan's head and flashes of Jaklyn's face between the bars supporting the thick stone railing.

Logan and Jaklyn were on that balcony because no one was sure what state Jaklyn was in. She hadn't had a fit since Logan had beat the shit out of her the night before, but that didn't mean she wouldn't snap at any moment. Moira had even had a quick look at her when she'd arrived late the night before, but all she'd been able to ascertain was her mind was completely unstable, but she didn't have any ideas of how to fix it or even calm it down. Since Logan could heal almost any sort of assault, he had been named the unofficial guardian of the young woman, and he had specific instructions to get her under control as fast as he could without killing her.

"How're you holdin' up Half-pint?"

Jaklyn looked up at Logan, tears in her eyes and her shoulders shaking slightly. There was a look on her face that said: "How does it look like I'm holding up?", but she didn't look away, and instead, she said, "I'm fine", and turned her gaze back to the funeral beneath her. "But I can't believe he's gone, Logan… It just… doesn't seem real. He can't be gone… He's the Professor…" She wiped her cheek absently with one hand.

Logan crouched down, placed his hand on her shoulder and ran a finger along her neck in a comforting motion. Jaklyn leaned backwards into him and cried harder, still watching the funeral. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her. It was a brotherly gesture, and Jaklyn was very grateful for it, although she would never say it outright. Slowly, as Storm finished speaking, the gathered funeral-goers rose from their seats and placed one white rose at the foot of the headstone, beside the flickering flame and then dissipated back into the mansion and around the bright spring ground, chatting idly and reminiscing about the Professor.

"Come on Half-pint. Come on, we should get you inside."

Logan helped Jaklyn to her feet and led her into his room, which just happened to be the one the balcony came off of. Jaklyn laid down on the bed, sobbing quietly, her tears soaking into his pillow. Logan sat down on the end of the bed and stuck another cigar in his mouth, but didn't light it. There was a dark, dark cloud settled over the mansion, and it was overwhelming to everyone, not just to the mutants gifted with super senses. Jaklyn laid on the bed for a long time, and at some point, Logan disappeared for a few moments, returning with Piotr in tow, and then he left again, leaving the couple alone. Piotr lay down on the other side of the double bed and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against him. Gently, he kissed her cheek, in front of her ear and rubbed her stomach gently.

"Are you OK, Jaki?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

She shook her head, rolling over so she could nuzzle into his chest. "You shouldn't be here, Piotr… I could snap and attack you…" Jaklyn groaned in frustration, and pressed her face farther into Piotr's chest, making it obvious that while he probably _shouldn't _be there, she definitely wanted him there. "Bloody hell… Why is this happening? _Now?" _

For a lack of better things to say, Piotr hushed her and stroked her hair, holding her close. He also knew that it was dangerous for him to be around her, because, even though she wouldn't be able to hurt him in his metal state, he didn't know if he could transform quick enough. If Jaklyn did attack him, he also knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself; she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she hurt any of her friends. But he so wanted to be with her at that moment, when she needed support to get her through all that was going on.

"Do you think you're well enough to go for a walk?" he asked, against his better though and judgment. "Just a short one? I think you could use the fresh air."

After a moment's deliberation, Jaklyn nodded and her and Piotr headed out into the hallway. Storm had said something about the students staying in their rooms, but Logan's room was close to the back staircase and the backdoor, so they were able to sneak out without being seen by anyone. They walked hand in hand down the main path, heading towards the lush woods at the back of the property. Before they were engulfed by the trees though, they turned down another path and headed around to one of the side yards. With night, an insecure peace had settled over the mansion, and Jaklyn actually felt the same way. She wasn't foolish enough to trust the security she felt.

And that was wise.

_No… No, not now… _she thought as she felt the familiar, uncontrollable urges rise to the surface, as she felt herself being ripped apart and the strange, feral beast coming to the surface. Her senses heightened momentarily and then her consciousness drifted back so she could only watch what was happening, what her body was doing. _I've got to warn Piotr. _Jaklyn saw the confused look on her boyfriend's face and managed to croak the word "run" before she lost control completely. When Piotr didn't move, Jaklyn screamed inside her head, and watched as her hand, seemingly in slow motion, reached out and as her claws drew bleeding gashes down Piotr's forearm, which he had used to block her with. _Run Piotr! Go! Get someone! _Her voice would never reach him, but she hoped stupidly that he might hear her anyway.

The shimmering organic metal suddenly covered Piotr's body and he grabbed her wrists and squeezed, not hard enough to break them, but hard enough to make Jaklyn think that was what he was going to do. The snarling-thing-that-wasn't-quite-Jaklyn struggled, but Colossus's superior strength held her in place and kept her from attacking him again. He forced her arms to fold behind her back and pulled her against his chest, pinning her down and keeping her from moving, then took both of her arms in one hand and scooped her flailing legs off the ground.

_"Put me down," _she snarled.

But Piotr didn't say anything. He walked calmly towards the mansion, holding Jaklyn as still as possible, which wasn't very still because she wouldn't stop struggling. Soon, her wrists were rubbed raw and her lip was bleeding from where she'd bitten down, determined to get free. As soon as they were back inside the mansion, Jaklyn screamed, high-pitched and animalistic and long, summoning up a chorus of footsteps, running through the halls above them.

"What the _hell _happened?" Logan bellowed, barreling down the stairs towards them.

The sudden appearance of the entire mansion – Kitty holding her skates in one hand – in his already panicked state, Piotr lost his concentration and his metal skin disappeared, Jaklyn using the opportunity to twist out of his grip and take a good-sized chunk out of his chest with her claws. Then, she took off like a shot, but she didn't get very far. Logan slammed his fist into Jaklyn's stomach, claws extended, making her double over and collapse on the ground, unconscious, and bleeding profusely.

"What do you do that for?" Piotr nearly growled. He took a step forward.

"She's fine, Tin Man. Just watch." Logan retracted his claws as he gestured to Jaklyn on the floor. "When she's in a fit or whatever you want to call it, she's got healing powers that rival my own."

Piotr watched as the gaping holes in her back closed, leaving only bloodstains on her pajamas. He turned an apologetic look to Logan, but instead of apologizing out loud, asked, "What should we do? She'll hurt someone else if she's left alone…" He took a deep breath and winced as the wound in his chest protested. Not normally one to show his pain, everyone around knew the wound was hurting him terribly.

"First things first." Logan looked at Storm and gestured to Piotr. "You need to get that wound fixed. I'll take Half-pint back to the holding cell, where she can't hurt anybody." With that, he tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and headed towards the elevator, leaving the confused students in his wake.

* * *

Everyone was exhausted the next day. Grief from the Professor's death and fright from Jaklyn's fit had worn them all out. Mina and Silence were currently seated in front of a large bay window overlooking the front yard, the latter draped lengthwise over the arms of her chair and studying the ceiling very intently. Mina was watching her friend with a sort of half-interested, half-bored-out-of-her-mind look.

"How do you think Jak's doing?" Silence asked.

Mina shrugged. "I can't imagine she's doing very well. She's been cooped up in that stupid cell for a long time now and her mind is trying to rip her apart. How would _you _be doing?"

"A lot worse than her. I would have tried to burn my way out of that fucking cell a long time ago."

"Exactly. And that would be in your normal mental state. Jaklyn's isn't normal right now."

"Ah. Good point."

The girls lapsed into silence again and stayed that way for a long while. At some point, Silence got to her feet and leaned against the window, watching the groups of students playing outside, and she painfully noticed that all their fun seemed on the surface. She thought that made sense. To a lot of the younger children, Xavier had been a father as well as a teacher and a friend. A lot of the students didn't have anywhere to go besides the mansion, and now, with the man who started the school gone, some were saying it would be better if it ended with him as well. The older students were all vehement in their shared opinion that the school should stay open, but no one knew what would be decided. There was a meeting about the topic planned for Storm, Logan, Beast and the older students in about half an hour.

"What do you think is going to happen to this place?" Mina asked.

No answer.

Mina, who had closed her eyes and lounged back in the chair, granted herself vision of the sitting area and found she was alone. Silence was gone. "Where the hell could she have gone?" she wondered out loud. Mina rose from her chair and spun on the spot, looking down the hallways for any sign of her red-headed friend. Finally, her gaze found the lawn below, and Mina spotted Silence, running towards an approaching figure. "Who is _that_?" As Silence leapt at him and embraced him in a hug as fierce as any Mina had seen her give, a small grin crept over the watching girl's face. "So that's her secret-mutant-lover from New York."

Still smirking, Mina pulled out the top portion of the window open, transformed into a bird and flew out into the mild air, dipping into a dive almost immediately so she could land dramatically beside Silence and the newcomer, who she remembered was the son of Warren Worthington II. Logically, he would be Warren Worthington III. She smiled, satisfied, when he jumped as a person seemingly fell from the air.

"So, is this the famous mutant-lover from New York?" Mina asked, using her thumb to indicate the young man as she stared at Silence, trying to be angry. She had gotten over the initial anger of her best friend dating the son of the man who was trying to eradicate mutants.

Silence smiled in a dreamy way Mina had never seen before. "This is Warren. Warren, this is Mina."

Mina shook the offered hand as she looked him over. He was a few inches taller than Silence with blond hair and bright blue eyes set in a face of soft, smooth features. Sticking out of the backs of his shoulders were two brilliant white wings, shimmering softly in the sunlight. He was wearing jeans and a white shirt with a black coat over top, both cut specially so his wings could protrude and hang naturally; he was standing in an odd way, and Mina thought he probably wasn't used to the weight hanging that way on his back. Mina was momentarily taken aback by the angelic beauty of the young man, and she had to concentrate to keep her mouth shut.

"It's nice to meet you, Mina," Warren said quietly. "Silence has told me a lot about you."

"Oh?" Mina raised an eyebrow and turned a quizzical look on her friend. "She hasn't told anyone much about you…"

"Oh."

Silence cuffed Mina on the back of the head, signifying she wanted her to leave. Mina took the hint and headed back inside, going straight for the room where they would be meeting to discuss the future of the mansion. Silence threaded her arm through Warren's and led him into the huge house, pressing her face into his arm, and letting him know how happy she was that he was here with mutant powers still intact.

"Everyone seems upset," Warren observed.

"Yeah…" Silence sighed. "The Professor was… killed." Against her will, tears filled her eyes and started to fall down her cheeks. Warren embraced her tightly for a moment, as they stood in the middle of the hallway, but once she had gathered herself together, she pushed away and smiled, before leading him back down the hall, towards her room. "Oh shit," Silence muttered as soon as they reached their destination.

"What is it?" Warren asked.

"The meeting would have started by now." She took Warren's hand. "Come on. You should come so we can let Storm and the others know you're here."

They proceeded down the hallway, down the stairs and down another hallway to where the meeting was taking place. Piotr was there, surfacing from Jaklyn's holding cell for the first time in a long while. Tucked in the corner of one of the couches, he looked more tired than the others, and Silence guessed he'd probably had little sleep, if any, but he still offered Silence a small grin like usual. Bobby and Kitty were seated on another couch, the latter curled up in the corner, leaning heavily on the arm, anxiety plain on her face. Mina was sitting beside Piotr, arms folded across her stomach.

"Most of us don't have anywhere else to go," Bobby was saying as Silence and Warren stepped into the room.

All heads swiveled to view the newcomers. Silence opened her mouth to say something, but Warren spoke first. "I know this is a bad time," he said, voice quiet. "But I was told that this was a safe place for mutants." He looked at Silence as he said this and smiled slightly.

"It was, son," Beast breathed.

There was a tense moment and all looked to Storm who had become, since the Professor's death, the one in charge. Everyone in the room wondered what she would say, and what she did say, brought smiles to everyone's faces. "And it still is." A tentative smile played at the corners of her mouth. "Hank, tell the students that the school stays open. Come with me," she said as she passed Warren and stepped into the hallway. "And we'll find you a room."

Silence walked beside Warren as Storm led them to the stairs and down the upstairs hallway where most of the boys' dorms were. She grunted to herself. This was going to make sneaking into Warren's room a _little _bit more difficult. Not that she wasn't up to challenge, however. Warren was gifted one of the rooms at the end of the hallway, and just like Silence's luck, the room had a creaky door. Storm left after informing Warren of a couple of the basics of the mansion, and Silence chose then to jump into the room and shut the door.

"So. What took you so long to get here?"

Warren leaned on the windowsill and turned his shy blue eyes towards the fiery girl. "Don't get angry when I tell you what happened." With a nod as confirmation, he continued. "I was going to get the cure. Somehow, my father convinced me it was the right thing to do. I was _actually _on the table when I realized I didn't want the cure. I freed myself from the bonds, leapt out the window and flew back to our house. I packed some things and then flew here first class. Which wasn't much fun. I panicked a bit when I got to the apartment in New York, because I didn't really know what I was doing, but then I came here."

Silence was a little flabbergasted. That was the most she'd ever heard Warren say at one time, and more so, because he had almost gotten the cure, but she wasn't mad. She was proud.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his middle, tangling her fingers into his wings. "For what it's worth, Warren, I'm proud of what you did. Especially for standing up to your father. It seems some of my attitude has rubbed off on you." He laughed and then ran his fingers through her hair and returned the embrace. "And I'm glad you came here," she confessed, her voice muffed in his shirt.

"Me too." In an uncharacteristically bold moment, he tilted her head backwards and kissed her full on the mouth and pulled her tighter against him. When they pulled apart, Warren was blushing, as was Silence, but he didn't sound shy when he spoke. "I missed you, Silence."

"I guess so." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again. "And I missed you."

Though she would never say it, Silence was glad for those moments of peace when she was with Warren. He was nearly the complete opposite of her, and his calm nature smoothed out her aggression and kept the fire under control. Silence loved the way he made her feel, and, at that moment, in the chaos of Jean's departure, the Professor's death and the turmoil of the mansion, she was so incredibly glad that Warren was here to keep her stable. She buried her face into his chest, her hands firmly gripping his wings, and most of her weight leaning into him.

Rather suddenly, Warren swung Silence up, into his arms and walked over to the bed. Conveniently, the bed wasn't pressed completely against the wall, so there was space for Warren's wings to hang while he leaned on the wall and held Silence in his lap. She curled up so her head on was his shoulder and she could keep her right hand on his wing and her left hand on his chest. He kept his arms around her waist and turned his head so he could kiss her again and again.

* * *

Andell couldn't stop looking at the newcomer. Jean, the woman Magneto had hunted down. She was taller than Andell, with beautiful, long, red hair and piercing brown eyes. Her pressure was intense, radiating with power and heat. It was feral, instinctive and dark. There was a quiet undertone of warmth and kindness, and Andell got the feeling the woman's mind was divided in two, but regardless, Andell couldn't stand too close to the woman because her pressure gave her an almost unbearable headache. But the woman was… captivating.

Not many around the camp were happy to have her, though.

Pyro wasn't comfortable being around someone who, apparently, had been his teacher when he lived at the mansion. He kept referring to her as "one of them" and he had become very surly since she'd arrived. Calisto didn't like her power and thought she was unstable, and shouldn't be around this many mutants where she could commit mass murder if she snapped. Many of the other mutants in the camp were uncomfortable and kept their distance from her, and as a result, there was always at least a ten-foot space of emptiness around her. Not that that would do any good, because she was an extremely capable telekinetic and telepath. She could do whatever she wanted to anyone she could see.

Magneto was afraid of her and her power, but wanted her there, and that seemed to be the only reason Jean hadn't attacked him yet. Oh wait, she wanted to be called Phoenix. Andell kept forgetting that little fact.

"She shouldn't be here," Pyro mumbled from his place beside Andell.

"No sense complaining, Pyro. There isn't anything you can do about it. She's not leaving." Andell crossed her arms under her breasts and sighed. There was a headache brewing behind her eyes. She needed to get away from the camp. "Want to go for a walk?" she asked Pyro. "There's some things I wanted to ask you about Wolverine, the mansion and this Professor guy who was killed."

Pyro looked at her for a moment and then nodded and they turned away from the camp. There was enough respect between the two of them now that they were almost friends. "You like to go for walks, don't you?"

"I like to have time to myself, and around here, walking through the woods seems to be the only way to get that. There are too many mutants around here. Too many pressures for me to deal with and I've been getting really bad headaches since Phoenix came here." Andell sighed. "What do you know about her?"

The young man shrugged, keeping his eyes on the path ahead of him. "She was nice. Real motherly. Kept her eye on everyone and always wanted to help. But she was… weak. As far as I knew, her mind was divided really early on, but her powers were in the other part of her mind, so she didn't have easy access to them. But she was also weak because she was a human sympathizer."

"You really don't like humans?"

"It's not so much that as I think they should obey us."

"Right." They walked on for a while longer in silence, Andell contemplating what he next question should be. Because she couldn't think of anything, she said, "What else do you know about Jean? I mean, there has to be something other than that she was a human sympathizer."

"Well… Logan – Wolverine – was in love with her, but she was in love with this guy named Scott. She was a doctor and a teacher. There isn't much else to tell."

"OK. Tell me more about Logan, then."

"Again, there's not much else to tell. He's stubborn and a little hard-headed, but he's a good fighter and he'll protect the mansion and all its inhabitants." Pyro sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. There was a change in his pressure. Instead of the normal heat and agitation, there was a certain calmness. It was something she'd never felt from him before, and she was pretty sure it was because they were talking about his old life, and he was, if secretly, missing it. Andell didn't even have to prod for him to continue. "The last time I saw him, he was fighting to protect us from invaders. He's got adamantium claws and knows how to use them. If you haven't already been told, you're a lot like him."

"I have been told."

"Look, Andell, I know you want to find Logan and get your revenge, but I think you should just stay here. Now that Jean is here, Logan will come looking for her. He'll be here soon enough."

She nodded. "I was planning on hanging around for a while longer anyways."

"Right. You've got that _thing _with Multiple Man."

"You hate him for dating your sister?"

Pyro stopped walking and looked away, suddenly intent on studying the tree beside him. "I don't hate him because they dated, I hate him because he hurt her. Really badly. Silence ran away and we didn't know where she was. And then he had the guts to show up at the mansion… I wanted to rip his face off for what he did to Silence." He turned and faced Andell again. "Silence is… or rather, was, the most important person in my life." His pressure changed again, and there was great pain.

"Do you miss her?"

He nodded.

"And… someone else?"

Pyro's eyes flashed. "I don't like how you know these things, but the answer is yes. _Her _name is Mina. But I'd rather not talk about her."

"OK." Andell started walking again, and was pleased when Pyro fell in step beside her. She found she liked talking to him and was glad he agreed. "So, who exactly was the Professor?"

"He owned the mansion where we lived. It was our school, too. Like normal school and mutant school. Somehow, he got really rich and was able to support a bunch of mutant students. He, Jean, Scott and a woman we called Storm taught us how to control our mutant powers and helped our powers advance. Professor Xavier was a mentor to all of us and a father to some. A lot of the mutants, like Silence and me, have no family anymore. A lot of kids are abandoned when their powers show up." Pyro sighed and shoved his hands deeply into his pockets. "It was a good place, a _safe _place, but it got boring after a while."

"So you just up and abandoned everyone?"

"We were at Alkali Lake, trying to stop some guy from killing all mutants, and I left then."

Now Andell stopped walking. "_Alkali Lake?_"

Pyro turned and looked at her strangely. "Yeah. What's wrong?"

Andell clenched her right hand into a fist, extended her claws and looked down at the blades. "Was Logan at Alkali Lake with you?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, why?"

_Then… He's got to… _"He knows about me."

* * *

**Author's Note… **So I **totally **forgot to mention Jean leaving the mansion, I think. Can we just like, assume it happened? Everyone who's reading this has seen the movie, so they know it happened. I can't believe I did that, but I'm not going to re-write anything, so just… ignore my blip, OK? Insert Jean's departure for yourselves. BUT NOW I'VE FIXED IT! SO IT'S OK! XD

Next Chapter: **The Hunt's End**.


	7. Chapter Seven: The Hunt

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Seven / _The Hunt's End _

* * *

Bobby's emotions had been thrown through a loop in the past little while. First there had been Jaklyn's attacks, and then the cure announcement and the Professor's death and then the discussions about closing the school. The school was his _home_, he had no where else to go, but the verdict had been in his favour, and the school was staying open, so his mind had been set at ease. About that issue anyway. There was something sitting heavily in his gut, some uneasiness, and the only thing he wanted to do right now was talk to his girlfriend Rogue; he knew there was something on her mind as well, and he was hoping she would talk to him before doing anything she'd regret. Especially getting the cure.

He knocked on her door and waited. There was no answer, but he didn't get worried. It wasn't unusual for her not to answer the first knock. She could be sitting on her bed with her headphones in and her music up loud. When she didn't answer after the second knock though, Bobby did start to get a little worried.

"Hey Pete, have you seen Rogue?" he asked as Peter walked down the hall, a massive television under one arm.

He didn't even stop walking as he said, "Yeah, this morning. She took off." The Russian followed Bobby's gaze to the TV and then, he did stop. "I'm taking this down to the holding cell so Jaki and I can watch a movie. I thought it might cheer her up a bit…"

Bobby felt for Peter. He knew something of what it was like to loose touch with someone you cared about as much as Peter cared for Jaklyn or Bobby cared for Rogue, and while he didn't have to deal with fits of bloodthirsty-ness and rage that could very well kill him, Bobby _did _have to deal with not being able to touch his girlfriend and that was very hard. Bobby had the sinking feeling Peter was trying very hard not to be mad with Jaklyn.

"If there's anything you think I could help with, just let me know, OK?"

Peter smiled and nodded. "Thanks Bobby," he said quietly before starting his trek towards the elevator again.

Bobby ran his fingers through his light brown hair and started walking. He wasn't going anywhere in particular, just walking so he could think. He always processed things easier while he was moving. As he passed the kitchen, Mina called his name, and he stopped so the small girl could join him in the hallway.

"What's up?" she asked. "You look a little… lost or something."

He sighed. "Rogue's not in her room and Pete said he saw her leaving this morning. I'm afraid she's gone to one of the cure clinics." Mina gasped. "Yeah, I know," he said through clenched teeth. The betrayal he felt from Rogue's actions was starting to set in. Didn't she trust that he wouldn't leave her, just because he couldn't touch her? Didn't she care how this would affect the other mutants at the mansion? Or her living there? She wouldn't be a mutant anymore. Not that that mattered to Bobby, but he knew, eventually, it would get to Rogue, and he didn't want her to leave any more than he wanted her to get the cure.

"Are you going after her?"

It took a moment for it to register Mina's words. He nodded almost without thinking.

"I'm coming with you."

Although he said nothing, Bobby appreciated Mina's support. It was a fairly long walk to the bus stop, but the actual bus ride to the clinic wasn't that long, so within an hour, they were standing amongst the angry crowd across the street, scanning the line for any sign of the familiar green cloak Rogue favoured. Mina started looking at the faces in the crowd on their side of the street. She didn't find Rogue, but the face she did find was just about as frightening as the armed guards standing in the middle of the road, guarding the cure-seeking mutants from the mob of protestors.

It was John.

Mina's initial shock quickly faded into anger, and she screwed up her face into the most unpleasant expression she could muster; it took all her will power to _not _transform into some vicious animal and attack him. Luckily for her and for John, Bobby found them and intervened.

"What are you doing here Pyro?" he snapped.

"What are _you _doing here?" Pyro focused his attention completely on Bobby to avoid looking at Mina. "Are you here to get the cure? Go home to mommy and daddy?" A thought struck the fiery youth then. "Or are you here to stop your girlfriend from getting the cure?" A devious grin split his face and Mina, standing behind Bobby, could have sworn she saw flames dancing in John's eyes, just like happened when Silence was feeling particularly nasty.

"Shut up," Bobby hissed.

Mina had never heard him talk in that tone before, and she was glad. It was kind of scary.

"Are you going to make me?" There was a familiar _click_, and a small ball of flame ignited in the palm of his hand. No one around the trio noticed, as his hand was at his side, just far away enough so his pants wouldn't catch on fire.

One of Bobby's hands suddenly became sheathed in ice and his face hardened. Mina thought for a second that surely, surely, this would be the day Iceman abandoned his better judgment and whaled on Pyro – in fact, she _hoped _it would be, because man, did she want to see her ex-boyfriend get what was coming to him – but she knew it wouldn't happen. She took a step forward to stand beside Bobby and flexed her fingers into claws, ready to strike if things went south.

"You're not worth it, Iceman."

In a move either Bobby or Mina saw coming, the ball of fire grew in Pyro's hand until it was the size of a basketball, and then he hurled it at the clinic, the rolling fireball growing with every second. It disappeared inside the clinic and there was a terrifying moment of silence and then… the clinic exploded. Screams rang out from inside the building, from both sides of the street and from the guards in the middle of the road. Rocked by the explosion, Mina fell backwards onto her butt, and John managed to escape as Bobby doused the flames with an impressive torrent of ice that melted into water above the burning building.

As the fire department arrived, Bobby grabbed Mina's wrist, dragged her to her feet and ran down the street and around a corner. Mina collapsed against the wall, unable to take a deep enough breath to calm herself down.

Bobby, doubled over with his hands on his knees, noticed. "Are you OK, Mina?" he asked.

She looked at him, pain in her eyes and on her face. "John…" was all she managed to say before she broke down and slid to the ground, crying.

Unsure of what to say, Bobby sat down on the ground beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

* * *

"I'll see you later, Half-pint."

Jaklyn rolled her head to the side to smile half-heartedly at Logan. "Yeah, OK. Thanks for coming to see me."

Logan just grunted in response and nodded once to Peter, who was just coming into the room, a large television under one arm. He headed to the elevator, up and straight into the backyard where he settled himself in the grass in front of the Professor's grave. He liked sitting out here when he was alone. It was peaceful and allowed him time and space to think. The sun in the clearing was hot on his leather jacket and there was a soft breeze blowing. A bee buzzed around his head for a moment before settling on his arm. Logan watch the small incest walk a zigzag pattern up his arm and then buzz away, realizing there was no nectar to be found in the leather. He watched the bee fly farther away and then turned his gaze back to the grave stone.

"Things aren't going to well without you, Chuck," he grumbled.

_Logan. _

Startled, he shook his head as the voice continued to echo in his ears.

_Logan. Logan._

The voice grew stronger, started to hurt. "Stop it! Stop!" But the voice did not stop.

_Logan! LOGAN! __**LOGAN! **_

A small scream escaped his lips as some invisible hand turned up the volume inside his head and the voice became nearly unbearable. He didn't want to hear the voice. It was Jean's voice. She was calling to him, and he wanted to go to her so bad, but he couldn't. He couldn't leave…

_**LOGAN! LOGAN! **_

Something inside him crumbled and he pushed himself to his feet and ran up to his room where he stuffed random articles of clothing and whatever else he thought of into a backpack. As he headed for the door, Storm appeared, a disapproving look on her face and a dark shadow in her eyes. He tried to push passed her – he needed to get to Jean – but she stepped in his way and forcefully shoved him back into the room; evidently her small frame held more strength than he would have thought possible.

"You're going after her, aren't you?"

"I _have _to."

"Logan! She's gone! She killed the Professor!"

"I _have _to save Jean! She's still in there somewhere! I have to save her!" Once again, he made an attempt to move into the hallway, but Storm forced him back into the room.

"She's made her choice! Now it's time to make ours, so if you're with us, than be with us!"

For a moment, Logan and Storm just stared at each other and then Logan pushed Storm into the door and disappeared down the hallway, heading toward the garage. He threw his backpack into one of the bags on the motorcycle and headed out, trusting only the voice in his head and the feeling in his gut to lead him to where Jean was.

He had no recollection of the journey to the edge of the campground, or of his procession though the dense forest. There were vague memories of fighting some grunts and an intense memory of the first wave of adamantium-laced female scent hitting him – she was here, but she wasn't important right now; Jean's voice in his mind grew stronger with each step he took. He stole a sweater from a ragged-looking tent and stepped into a clearing, and when he saw what was waiting for him, Logan actually gasped. The shear amount of tents was staggering, but that was nothing to the number of mutants gathered, all facing a raised section of the forest floor. There was a small group of mutants standing there, and the booming voice of Magneto carried across the clearing well. This was a meeting, a rally, and Logan didn't want to miss one word of what was being said. He pushed his way through the crowd, his eyes never leaving the platform.

Behind Magneto, he could see Pyro, looking smug and like he was enjoying his obvious position of power. On one side of him was a group of mutants – two females and one male – Logan had never seen before, all dressed in leather with a tattoo of the Greek symbol omega visible somewhere on their body. Silence's ex-boyfriend, Jamie Madrox was standing on the other side of Pyro, also looking extremely smug, and beside him stood the source of the adamantium smell. Andell Brown. She was about the same height as him, with long, dark brown hair and piercing violet eyes that Logan could see the colour of even from some distance away. She was dressed all in leather and had her arms crossed underneath her chest. She turned to look at him and for a second, their gazes locked. Andell growled at him and took a step forward, but Jamie grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He followed her gaze and spotted Logan, but thankfully, he didn't say anything. Logan pulled his eyes away from Andell to look upon Jean, standing off to the right of Magneto. She was dressed in a long red coat that complimented her long red hair and she was looking right at him.

_Logan… _said her voice in his head. This time though it was different, softer and it was Jean. Not Phoenix as it had been earlier. _Logan… Save me… _

He pushed her voice out of his head momentarily, to focus, to gather his thoughts. How was he going to get near her? How was he going to get her out of here? He was sure Magneto had already figured out he was there, so there was no way he was going to get out of here easily, but… When he looked back up at Jean, she was looking straight at him. She inclined her head ever so slightly and then stepped off the platform into the trees and out of sight. Not wanting to loose her, Logan pushed his way through the crowd and headed after Jean; she was easy to follow as her new persona had changed her scent, made it… spicy. Definitely unique and easy to follow.

"Jean," he called as the red coat came into view.

She turned, her fiery hair fanning out behind her, a small, feral smile tugging at one corner of her mouth.

Logan reached out to her, finally feeling that this could _really _work, that he could get her out of here, get her back to the mansion, save her, when an all too familiar sensation filled his body, tugged at his bones. He flew sideways, spinning in mid-air so his back could slam into a tree, with him suspended three or so feet above the ground. Jean stood placidly beside him, watching as Magneto stepped out of the bushes, Andell in tow, an angry look on her face.

"You should know by now, Wolverine, that I can sense the adamantium in your bones from a mile away."

"I don't want to fight," Logan hissed.

"Smart boy. Why _did _you come here?"

"I came to take Jean home," Logan managed between clenched teeth.

The taller man scoffed, tightening his grip on Logan's bones, causing the pain to increase. "Do you think I am keeping her here against her will? She is here because she wants to be here." The smirk on Magneto's face made Logan's lip curl. "She is staying here." And with a small flick of his hand, Magneto sent Logan crashing backwards through the trees at an alarming speed.

Beside Magneto, Andell growled loudly.

"What the fuck did you go and do that for?!" she bellowed, standing on her tiptoes to better put her face in Magneto's. Electricity started to cackle around her hands. "I need to talk to him!"

The same pain that had moments ago rushed through Logan's body hit Andell. She wanted to double over, but she couldn't move, and she didn't like not having control of her own body. Magneto's eyes darkened and he pushed her to the ground.

"Do not talk to me like that, Sin."

The pain disappeared as abruptly as it had come and then, Andell did fall to her knees, gasping for breath. She turned her purple eyes up at Magneto and meant to glare, but the look she was receiving made her turn her gaze to the dead leaves under her knees. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet, and faced the path Logan had created, with her back to Magneto.

"I'm done here."

And before he could say anything to stop her, she took off, running as fast as she could along the path, Logan's pressure firmly anchored in her mind.

* * *

Jamie had seated himself on a fallen tree after Magneto's speech to wait for Andell to come back. As soon as she had sensed Wolverine's pressure, Sin couldn't stand still: she had started fidgeting, and a low growl constantly emitted from her throat. When she had _seen _Wolverine's face, she had actually growled out loud and tried to leap off the platform to attack him. Jamie had had to physically hold her back, and he was sure – if she hadn't been blessed with accelerated healing – he would have left a bruise on his arm where he'd grabbed her.

Magneto came back through the brush, Phoenix following several feet behind, a strange expression on her face; she was gazing at the forest around her, and she seemed to be fascinated by the leaves near her face.

But there was no Andell with them.

Jamie got to his feet as Magneto passed. "Is she gone, then?" he asked. Magneto turned his steely gaze on him and for a second, Jamie thought he was going to yell, but he gave a single nod and kept walking. Jamie sighed and sat back down on the log.

* * *

Jaklyn sighed heavily for about the third time in as many minutes. Beside her, Piotr also sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. He ignored the growl issuing from Jaklyn at his touch, because it happened so often now, the noise didn't mean anything.

"Come on, Jaki."

"No. I'm not making it easier for me to hurt you." Her voice was dead, and it didn't even sound like herself to her own ears. _I wish he'd just leave… Then there'd be no chance of hurting him again… _With a pang of self-loathing, she looked at the marks she'd left on his chest. They were still angry and red and she could still remember the feeling of her claws ripping through his flesh.

Piotr tried once again to pull her into his arms, but she resisted, curling farther into her corner.

"Fine."

And Jaklyn got her wish. Piotr got to his feet and left the holding cell. Admittedly, it didn't look much like a cell anymore, because Mina, Silence, Kitty, Piotr and Bobby had brought down blankets and pillows and other things from Jaklyn's room and around the mansion. Piotr had even brought down her easel and paints, but it sat with a blank canvas in the corner where he'd put it. Jaklyn spent all of the time she was in her right mind lying on the bench which had been made into a quasi-comfortable bed, staring at the ceiling or reading the pile of books Mina had brought down, and all of the time she wasn't in her right mind… well, Jaklyn wasn't really sure what she did during those times, but from the evidence she left behind, she gathered she moved around the cell, trying to tear things apart. On one of the walls there were scratch marks in the metal – she had obviously tried to escape.

But she didn't care. As far as she thought, she deserved to be in this cell, because all her fears about her powers making an animal were coming true. She was loosing control of her powers, and she knew it. She sighed and closed her eyes as she curled up against her pillows. Things were rapidly falling apart without the Professor, and all Jaklyn wanted was to have the stability back that she'd had for a few months.

* * *

Andell fell to her knees beside the unconscious Wolverine. Technically, he was dead, but as soon as his body worked the debris out of his flesh, and everything regenerated, he would wake up, and Andell would be there. As soon as he was in top condition again, she would attack him, she would get her revenge. So, she sat on the forest floor, her senses pressed the farthest they would go – if anyone approached, she would know and she would attack. She didn't want anyone interfering.

She didn't know how long she was waiting, but the sun was setting when Logan groaned and sat up. He rubbed his head, flexed his fingers and looked around, confused. As his gaze settled on her, he growled, and the adamantium claws shot out of his hands.

"What the hell are _you _doing here?" he snarled.

Andell extended her own claws and energy started to cackle around them. "I was waiting for you to wake up, _Wolverine_." She growled low in her throat, rising to her knees and flexing every muscle in her body, readying herself if he attacked. "_You _are the reason I'm like this!" she brandished her claws at him, grinding her teeth in frustration. She had finally found Logan – Wolverine – the reason she now had a metal skeleton – and she had all sorts of things she wanted to say to him, but that was all she could manage. Her jaw worked fine, but the words were getting lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth.

Realizing she meant business, Wolverine put his claws away and reached out towards her. "Andell," he said in what was obviously the most calm voice he could muster; there was a serious undercurrent of bestiality, and Andell knew he wanted to attack her, but there was something holding him back. "This isn't the time to fight! I've got to get back to the mansion! Do you know what Magneto is going to do?" He sighed exasperatedly when Andell shrugged. "Whatever. I'm leaving."

"I'm coming with you."

Logan growled, but didn't say anything. Instead, he got to his feet, stretched and sniffed the air. Without so much as looking at Andell again, he started walking in the direction she knew the nearest road was.

"I want answers, Wolverine."

He walked on silently for a good five minutes before he said: "About what?"

"The whole metal skeleton thing."

"I know probably about as much as you do."

"Did you know I was made after you? That I was only made because Stryker wanted to make sure he could do it again. And he made one more after me-"

"Yeah, I know about her. She was full of metal and at the bottom of a tank when I left her." He growled. "And what do you want me to do about him giving you and that other chick metal skeletons? Do you want me to kill you? Because I got news for ya – that's not the easiest thing to do."

Andell was a bit taken back by this comment. "I… I want revenge."

"…Whatever."

* * *

**Author's Note… **So this fic took me even longer to update, but I did it, and I'm pleased with this chapter. Lotsa tension and action coming up, as we are nearing the big battle scene. By the way, if you hadn't already guessed, this fic goes a bit beyond the movie, because there'd only be eleven chapters if I just followed the movie. As it stands right now, I've got fifteen planned, but it could end up being more or less. Anyways, enjoy.

**Next Chapter: Terror Restrained. **Any guesses? It's not what you think. ;)


	8. Chapter Eight: Terror Restrained

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Eight / _Terror Restrained _

* * *

She had been following him for hours, silently and always a step or two behind him, since he'd woken up after being thrown through a forest. It had been sunset then and it was the afternoon now; they had walked all night, their Adamantium bones and strong muscles needing little to no rest. He guessed she was waiting for the right time to attack him or… something. Actually, he wasn't sure why she _hadn't _attacked him yet. His back had been exposed for the entirety of their trek, but she hadn't made a move. Logan's body had been completely tense the whole time, ready for a possible attack at any minute.

_Andell Brown. Test subject number one-thirteen. _

As they walked, Logan's mind kept flicking back to the X-Ray images he'd seen of her at Alkali Lake: her solid Adamantium heels, the three claws nestled in her arms and identical to his, her metal skeleton, a massive conductor for the energy that obviously crackled through her body at her command. He wasn't sure of her powers, but she smelled like Adamantium and she smelled _familiar_, and that was all that mattered.Logan found it unsettling and oddly comforting to have her so close all the time. He'd never had anyone like him.

He'd tried to start a conversation with her several times, but none of his attempts had garnered any success. She remained quiet and he wasn't sure why. It's not like she hadn't spoken to him already, and since he was sure she was intent on following him all the way back to the mansion, talking would sure make the time go by faster. _Whatever, _he told himself for about the hundredth time. _If she doesn't want to talk, that's her business. I've got to get back to the mansion and get the others so we can go get Jean. And stop Magneto. I wonder if Half-pint's feelin' up to fighting. Her strength would come in handy against the mutants Magneto's got working for him. _He looked over his shoulder at Andell, trudging through the forest. She looked perfectly at home traversing the uneven ground, and she seemed accustomed to traveling with only the clothes on her back.

"How long are you planning on following me for?" he asked. "I thought you wanted revenge."

She didn't say anything.

He grunted. "Can you at least tell me if we're close to any people?"

Andell stopped walking and closed her eyes. Kind of flabbergasted that she was actually complying, Logan stopped and turned to watch her. Soft bolts of energy, barely visible, cackled around her hands and a look of concentration settled around her features. It was just over a full minute before she opened her violet eyes again and spoke, her voice slightly rougher than it had been due to her lack of speech.

"There's several groups of people that way." She pointed to the right.

Logan started walking in the opposite direction. He had left the motorcycle he'd "borrowed" from Scott several years ago parked down the road from a small campground. They walked for about thirty minutes more before the bike came into view. Well, sort of view. Logan had hidden it to the best of his ability. He pulled the branches off it and climbed on, taking the bike's weight with his legs in order to lift the kickstand.

"You'd better get on unless you're planning on running the rest of the way."

Andell climbed on the bike behind him. She sat like she belonged there. "Look. I'm biding my time. You're obviously going to try and stop Magneto and-slash-or rescue Jean or whatever her name was. You've got stuff to do, and until you do that stuff, you're not going to be one hundred percent into our fight. I need you to be in this one hundred percent. So, I'm going to stay with you until your shit is taken care of. Then, I'll get what I hunted you for."

He grunted again.

Logan started the motorcycle and took off down the road at a speed miles and miles over the speed limit, enjoying the thrill of excessive speed and – to be completely cliché – the wind in his hair. Riding motorcycles felt like freedom; something Logan sorely craved. But life at the mansion was almost as good. And he was rather attached to the people there, as unlikely as he was to admit that. But those people - _Jean _– were the reason he was still at the mansion; why he was planning on fighting Magneto and the threat of a cure head-on. Logan was and always had been a fighter. But he was also an honourable man, and if Andell was willing to wait, he would give her what she wanted. As long as she didn't interfere with what he was doing now. He didn't think she would interfere. She didn't sound like she had any loyalty to anyone except herself.

It took the rest of that day and most of the next driving non-stop – except for a short stop to fill up the bike's gas tank – for the pair to reach the New York countryside where the mansion was located. After her explanation, Andell said nothing else and Logan stopped trying to make her talk. Logan parked the bike in the massive garage, smirking slightly at the look of wonder on Andell's face at the amount of money parked beside the bike. But that moment didn't last. The urgency of the situation pressed down on him anew and he ran inside the massive house, his hyper-sensitive eyes and ears and nose searching for Storm.

* * *

"I haven't spent any time with Si for _days_," Mina whined. She flopped backwards against the back wall of Jaklyn's cell and sighed. "She's always with Warren. They're like, inseparable. And I know I should be _happy _for her, but I can't get over the fact that she _didn't _tell _me _about _him_. Like, I thought I was her best friend. Isn't that the kind of thing you tell your best friend? You talk with your best friends about boys, right?" Mina waited only for Jaklyn's grunt of acknowledgement before continuing her tirade. "I mean, I'm sure Warren is as nice as he is gorgeous – and he _is _gorgeous, let me tell you – and I'm sure he's a keeper, but why wouldn't she tell _me_ about him? I don't think she told _anyone _actually. Warren was her little secret. Why can't I have a good boyfriend? I mean, my first serious boyfriend was great until his father tried to turn me into some kind of weapon and then there was John… _Ass._" Mina sighed again with more exuberance and then smiled at Jaklyn. "How have things with you and Pete been? I mean, it can't be easy on either of you…" She let her voice trail off as she gestured around the cell.

Jaklyn bit her lip to keep from crying. Every time she thought about Piotr, she got choked up and started sobbing. All she could see was the marks on his chest from _her_ and the look on his face as he'd left her cell the last time – the look of absolute hurt. Piotr hadn't come down to see her again, but Jaklyn couldn't say that she blamed him. Who would want to be around her when there was a chance she'd go off at any minute? Silence had been ignoring her as much as she had Mina. Indeed, Mina seemed to be the only one who spent any amount of time with her, besides Logan, who Jaklyn couldn't hurt, even if she tried.

"Jaki…" Mina's voice had changed at the look on her friend's face. "I know something about losing control of your mutation. The Professor put a mental block in my head too because I'd go into fits similar to yours every time I transformed." Mina smiled, her baby blue eyes sparkling, when Jaklyn raised her wolfish face to meet her gaze. "The only reason I haven't gone absolutely nutso since we lost the Professor is because I haven't even tried to transform. I'm…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm _afraid_. I don't want to know what will happen when I have to. But, Jaklyn, you can't just sit here and let it take over you. I know it sounds impossible, but you've got to try and control it. You've got to find a way to _use_ it or something. If you don't… you'll turn into… I don't know, a monster or something. Jaki, you'll turn into everything the world is afraid mutants are."

When Jaklyn didn't say anything, Mina got to her feet and slapped her friend. Hard.

"OUCH! What the bloody hell-"

"STOP MOPING AROUND AND DO SOMETHING, JAKLYN! WE'RE ALL WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU AND YOU SIT DOWN HERE STARING AT THE FUCKING WALL ALL DAY LIKE YOUR LIFE IS ENDING!" Mina's face had turned an impressive shade of scarlet and her eyes, kind and warm a moment ago, were now cold and angry. Jaklyn's lack of communication had obviously pushed Mina's last nerve. Tears had actually appeared in the corners of Mina's eyes. "YOU'VE GOT A BOYFRIEND WHO LOVES YOU AND IS TRYING HIS BEST TO BE WITH YOU THROUGH THIS AND YOU JUST KEEP PUSHING HIM AWAY! YOU JUST KEEP PUSHING EVERYONE AWAY!" She paused to take a few deep, sobbing breaths. "Just let us help you, Jaklyn… Don't do this alone…"

Jaklyn stared at Mina for a moment, her hand still on her cheek. The familiar and hated bubble of anger had started to form when Mina had slapped her, but now, it was fading away. "I'm sorry…" she whispered hoarsely, her eyes darting to the floor.

Mina all but fell forward to hug her friend. "Jaki, it's fine… But you're putting yourself through all this pain, and you don't have to. Not alone, anyway…"

The taller girl wrapped her arms around Mina and let herself relax against her friend, but their moment of solitude was interrupted by someone barging into the holding room. Jaklyn recognized his smell at once, but when the second smell tingled her nostrils, she looked up at Logan, confused. "What's going on?" she asked, standing up. Mina stood up beside her, and Jaklyn sensed the tension in her friend.

"How you feelin' Half-pint?"

"Like shit. Why?" Jaklyn may have been speaking to Logan, but her eyes, normal and mechanical, were pinned to the woman standing behind her feral friend. _Adamantium… It's the female Logan… _

"Do you think you can fight?"

"I could tear you apart."

"Right. You and Mina get down to the hanger. Changed. We're heading out to Alcatraz Island."

"You're going to take me?" Jaklyn asked, her voice loosing its edge and sounding more surprised than anything. "You trust me?" She watched as Logan deactivated the shield keeping her in the cell.

"I trust you to fight, Half-pint. I know you can do that. If you… freak out, we'll keep you under control."

Jaklyn was a little shocked, and she momentarily forgot about the "female Logan". As the pair of Adamantium-laced mutants made to leave the room, her senses came back to her. "What's she doing here? I thought we were on red alert for this one?" she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. Logan just grunted and left the room. As – _What was her name? Oh yeah… _- Andell left the room, Jaklyn let it go and turned to Mina. "Thanks, Mina."

Mina smiled. "It's no problem, Jaki. You're my friend, and I don't want to see you loose yourself. Forgive me for sounding like a teacher, but you were making real progress, and I think you can overcome this… personality defect, shall we call it?"

"That sounds about right."

Mina clapped Jaklyn on the shoulder. "Let's suit up and meet them all in the hanger."

As they left the cell and walked the subbasement halls, a thought dawned on Jaklyn. "Are you going to be OK to fight, Mina? You said it yourself: you're not sure of what will happen when you transform."

"Well… it doesn't matter, does it? We've got to fight. Logan was obviously apprehensive, and Alcatraz Island is where Worthington Labs is, right? My guess is Magneto is going to march on them, try and cut off the cure at its source." Mina sighed, running her fingers backwards through her auburn hair. "So, it doesn't matter what happens to me… I'll have to deal. Just like you. We'll be fine."

Jaklyn wasn't so sure, but she didn't say anything else as the girl walked into the change rooms and pulled out their leather battle uniforms. She pulled her long hair into a ponytail, slid her knives into the sheaths on her thighs and wiggled her fingers through her fingerless gloves; worn only to help with her grip on her knives, Jaklyn didn't always wear the gloves, but she was going to take any advantage she could get as well as the chance she wouldn't have to transform. Maybe that would keep her from flipping out. Mina came around the lockers in the centre of the room, just as Silence, Kitty and Storm entered the room.

"How are you feeling Jaklyn?" Kitty asked as she pulled her suit of the locker next to the metamorph's.

"I still feel terrible. But, I've been recruited to fight anyways."

"What else would you expect with Logan at the helm? Storm won't say no to him and everyone else is gone, so we're stuck listening to Wolvie." Kitty smiled mischievously. "I'm sure you'll be fine, Jaki." Kitty gave her friend's arm a squeeze before walking behind a curtain to change.

"You guys ready?" Silence asked, pulling her sleeves down to her wrists.

"You sure _you're _ready to show Warren your fiery self?" Mina snapped.

"Mina." Storm's eyes flashed white. "We can not be fighting amongst ourselves. Whatever problems you and Silence are having can wait until we get back. There are more important things to deal with." Without waiting for any protests, the white-haired woman left the room, her cape fluttering behind her.

"Mina?" Silence asked. "What's wrong? Are you mad at me?"

"Like Storm said, it can wait."

As Mina left, Silence turned to Jaklyn. "Do you know what's up?"

"Yeah, but it's not my place to tell."

"C'mon you two." Kitty grabbed both their wrists and led the way do the hanger where the Blackbird was parked. "The air around here is already oppressive enough without a quarrel between friends. All we've got to worry about right now is kicking some butt." Jaklyn marveled slightly at Kitty's ability to keep her mood light, even though she was probably very afraid. "So let's focus."

The three girls joined the rest of the team outside the hanger and turned to face Logan.

"There's only ten of us," Bobby said, looking along the line, Jaklyn following his gaze.

Herself, Kitty, Silence, Mina, Bobby, Piotr, Storm, Warren, Beast and Logan. Ten. Plus that Andell woman, standing behind Logan. But was she going to fight for them? Or just be a bystander? Or would she turn and fight for Magneto?

"Yeah, we're going to be sorely outnumbered."

"But we're a team," Storm reminded them. "We can work together where as they will be a mob."

Jaklyn guessed Storm had some information about what exactly they were going up against that she, or any of the other students, had. But, no one seemed keen on finding out what that information was, as everyone nodded at Storm's words and headed towards the jet. Jaklyn started to follow, but a strong and familiar hand wrapped around her forearm and pulled her back. She turned and looked up at Piotr, afraid of what he might say; she hadn't exactly been the kindest or most thankful she could have been…

"Jaki," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry Piotr," she confessed in a rush as she threw her arms around his middle and pressed her face into his chest.

"It's OK." He held her tightly for a moment and then pushed her back so he could look her in the face. "I just wanted you to know that I'll keep an eye on you. I won't let you hurt any of our friends."

Jaklyn buried her fact into Piotr's chest again.

"Let's get movin' Half-pint; Tin Man. We can't wait around all day."

* * *

Silence stared at the back of Mina's chair as the jet lifted out of the hanger and hovered momentarily in the air. There was a soft jolt as the super-sonic jet started its cross-country flight, but Silence's thoughts were not completely on the upcoming fight. Sure, she was worried, just like she always was before she fought, but she was excited. The risk to her life only made it that much _more _exciting. But the risk to her friend's lives? That made her more worried. That made her angry. After Stryker's attack on the mansion, she did not want to see her friends split up and threatened again. She did not like the risk of loosing any of the people on this plane. Especially not Mina and especially not Warren. Her best friend and her boyfriend. No, she didn't want to loose either of them. Or anyone. But she wanted to fight. There would be a change this time.

Instead of fighting for fun and enjoyment, she would fight to protect. Fight to _save_.

She balled her hands into fists in resolve.

"Are you OK, Silence?" Warren asked, placing a hand on her arm.

She looked into his bright blue eyes and smiled. "I'm fine, Warren." Silence unclenched her fist and took his warm hand in hers. "Just a little… worried."

"About the fight?"

"Not really." Silence red-eyed gaze went back to Mina's chair and her voice dropped. She didn't know why her thoughts still resided on Mina's angry voice before they'd left, but they did. _It can wait until after we fight. After we __**win**__. _

* * *

Warren was very uncomfortable for many reasons. First off and most obviously, he was worried about his father, out on the island with only the research staff and scientists at the labs to protect him. Second, he was worried about Silence, and about these X-Men, who had taken him in. He didn't know exactly what they were facing, but he knew they were outnumbered and he didn't want any of them to suffer because of his father's cure and the resistance it was meeting. Thirdly, he was worried about the actual fighting. He didn't know how to do much, and he wasn't an aggressive person. He didn't know what he could do. The only reason he was on this plane was so he could help his father and his friends. Fourthly, his wings were positioned awkwardly, and that always made him uncomfortable.

Beside him, Silence seemed distracted, and that made him worried as well. From what she'd said, she was a very powerful mutant, and Warren didn't think having her thinking about something other than the fight would be a good idea. "Are you OK, Silence?" he asked, placing a hand on her arm. He wanted to do what he could to help the X-Men fight, and if that meant making sure Silence was all right, then that's what he'd do. Not that he wouldn't do that in any other situation.

* * *

Mina closed her eyes as she listened to Silence and Warren speak. She was regretting her decision to make a snide comment at Silence earlier, because she knew that Silence distracted _was _a bad thing. Especially when they were bound to come up against one of the two people Blaze most wanted to get her hot little hands on. _John,_ Mina thought, closing her eyes against the painful memories. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Pyro again herself. Not amidst the chaos of another good versus evil battle, not when she wasn't sure of her own powers.

Ever since she'd seen Jaklyn first fit, Mina had been afraid to transform, to test her own mutation after the Professor's death and the disappearance of her own mental block. Now, Mina was in a slightly better situation than Jaklyn was. She'd had her mental barrier for much longer and had been working the Professor on controlling herself without the barrier. The sessions had been going well, and Mina was confident she could contain her more… bestial side for a little while at least. But in the heated center of a battle such as the one they were facing? Ah… she wasn't positive she would be able to keep a level head. _And John won't help things. _Mina's own hands curled into fists and her nails dug into her palms through her gloves.

_Can I do this? Should I even be fighting? What if I hurt one of them? _

* * *

Thoughts much the same were running through Jaklyn's head. But she was even more worried, because the more she thought about the impending fight, the more the hated growling echoed through her head. She felt closer and closer to losing herself with every passing second and every passing mile. If it wasn't for the reassuring presence of her friends around her and Piotr beside her, she was sure she would have already lost it.

_At least I've found a way to keep it at bay for a while… _Jaklyn sighed and leaned farther back in her seat, the belts contracting with her movement. Piotr's hand tightened on hers.

He said he'd keep an eye on her. Jaklyn was more thankful than she could say, because she knew he'd keep his word. She knew he'd do his best to keep her and everyone else safe from what she could become. But what if something happened to him? Logan had said they were going to be seriously out numbered, but that was all he'd said. Jaklyn figured they'd be fighting mutants, and if there was a lot of them, wouldn't it be logical there would be one who could get through Piotr's defenses?

What if he couldn't stop her? Would someone else on the team do it? Or would she be left to run a bloodthirsty course through the opposing side?

Could she survive losing herself in a mob of mutants ready to kill her?

She wasn't so sure.

* * *

Andell sat at the back of the plane, buckled into a seat on a wide bench. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it allowed her an unobstructed view of the passengers in the front of the plane and it kept her far enough away that no one would talk to her. Being in such close proximity to ten other pressures was playing havoc with her head and she'd take whatever distance she could get. But she could still feel them all.

A shifting pressure, sometimes wild, sometimes calm. A metamorph. Mina. Silverfox.

A hot, unpredictable pressure like Pyro's. A creator and controller of fire. Silence. Blaze.

A calm, kind, pressure, warm to the touch and like a soft breeze on the mind. A flier. Warren. Angel.

A cold pressure, hard like ice. A creator of ice and snow. Bobby. Iceman.

A pressure that was almost untouchable, one that was free. A phaser. Kitty. Shadowcat.

Andell committed the first five pressures to memory, remembering the way they felt as they touched her own psyche, her own pressure, her own energy. She took a moment, and then moved on.

A stormy pressure, powerful and nigh unstoppable. A controller of weather. Ororo. Storm.

A controlled but powerful and feral pressure. A transformed man. Hank. Beast.

A metallic pressure, friendly, protective, defensive. A metal man. Peter. Colossus.

A tormented pressure, animalistic and powerful but kind underneath. A wolf. Jaklyn. Terror.

And just because she could, she ran her mental fingers over Logan's pressure again, the confined, feral, powerful and familiar pressure. Adamantium laced, comforting to know. Wolverine. As much as she wanted her revenge, as much as she wanted her answers, it was good to know there was still someone out there like her, someone who had survived and who would survive for a long time. She didn't want to kill him. She didn't think she could kill him. But she had to know his pressure, so she could keep an eye on him, follow him during the fight.

She had to know everyone, so she could keep an eye on them all. She'd only been around these people for a short time, but she… she quite liked them.

* * *

**Author's Note… **(falls over) So this was a bitch to get out, but I did it! OHMYGOD. I updated all three of my fanfictions-in-progress within like, two weeks. I'm so impress sed with myself. (beams) You should all be impressed with me too. (giggles) By the way, this is the only fic that I'm actually on schedule with. Schedule being the chapter plans I made before I started writing this. WOO.

To learn more about Mina, including the background on several obscure details mentioned in this chapter, go read Shauna's fanfiction "Beautiful Liar". It's about Mina pre-X1.

Forgive me if Logan is slightly out of character. I think he's OK. (Remember, this is MOVIE Logan.) It's been a while since I've written anything X-Men, so… yeah. I won't make any more excuses.

And Matt, I think what you said about Piotr giving Jaklyn a nickname is a great idea. Except I fail at thinking of one, so if you care to help, it'd be much appreciated. :P

Anyways, here you goes Shauna. This one is for you. I put in the Mina-drama we talked about. And some more Jaki-drama and some Silence-and-Warrnen-drama. Wow, they are a WEIRD couple. But whatever. This is another chapter. Enjoy it because I don't know when I'll be able to write another one. I hope this writing streak keeps up though. I want to get to the sequel of my Batman fics. Obviously, Batman is my favourite thing to write, so I'll be kind of focusing on that after this…

**Next Chapter: Rage Equals Death**


	9. Chapter Nine: Rage

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication.  
Chapter Nine: Rage.**

* * *

The Blackbird winged silently across the distance between the Xavier mansion and Alcatraz Island, the passengers all unaware of the distances being covered beneath them. All twelve minds on board were focused on what they were flying into: a battle in the war of humans against mutants, a battle against Magneto, trying to stop their fellow mutants from making a massive mistake. Andell, sitting at the back of plane, was vividly aware of the various emotions radiating throughout the plane, as were Jaklyn and Mina, the two shapeshifters picking up on the subtle changes to the scents around them. The only minds with some measure of calm belonged to Beast, Storm, Wolverine and Andell, all of whom had made it through battles before, all of whom had their scars to show and their experience to fall back on. Regardless, even the season mutants were agitated and worried, although their fears tended to circle around whether or not their younger companions could actually handle what they were flying into, if they were actually ready.

Logan thought they were, but Storm and Beast weren't so sure.

The younger mutants were all sitting in their seats, belted in and tucked as far into them as they could get, hands gripping armrests in white-knuckled grips; they were all so frightened that they were hardly sparing the energy to cast reassuring looks at each other. They were afraid and wondering the same thing as the adults: could they do this?

Jaklyn's one hand was firmly locked around that of her boyfriend, Piotr, and she was shaking with a fine trembling that got worse the closer they got to the island. She didn't want to change and fight, because she didn't want to risk losing control and attacking someone she cared about, someone who was on her side. At the same time, she wanted to fight. The beast inside her was pacing—she could feel it, like it was a separate entity walking around inside of her, waiting to bust out—and snarling and it was all Jaklyn could do to keep herself from shifting on the plane. She was eager to fight, and it bothered her. Without the mental barriers the Professor had put in place to filter the progression of her mutation, the young mutant was uncomfortable being around others, being out of her cell.

_You have a job to do, Jak._

"Jaki."

She turned to look at Piotr, her mechanical eye making a faint whirring noise only she could hear. "Yeah?" she breathed, her hand tightening on his.

He returned the gesture and offered a small smile. The big Russian didn't say anything else, but nothing needed to be said. The look on his face, in his bright blue eyes, said everything for him. He had promised that he'd keep her from attacking any of the X-Men, and he meant it. Piotr was there for her, and it made Jaklyn's face split in its first real smile since the whole mess with Jean/Phoenix had started. She squeezed his hand again, tighter and tried to convey the moment of peace she was experiencing with her eyes. As soon as the moment passed, however, that gnawing sensation was back, eating at her insides.

She'd never been in a real fight before. She didn't know how anyone could handle the emotions on a regular basis. How could anyone do this for a living?

Could she do this _once_?

As the sky darkened around the super-sonic jet, the plane began to descend and Storm, up front at the controls, had to engage stealth mode so no one would see them or detect them with mutant powers. The massive black plane slid through the growing darkness around the secluded island, and the passengers aboard tried to ascertain what exactly the situation was. They knew Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants were making their way here, but did the island have any defenses? If Warren Worthington II was as rich as he was supposed to be and knew anything about the people he was trying to help, then the answer to that question was probably yes; the thought of weapons made Jaklyn's body go rigid, made her mind freeze.

At the back of the plane, Andell cried out in pain, startling Jaklyn back to normal and making everyone else turn around to face the strange woman who had joined them.

"She's close," the hard woman informed the others through clenched teeth. And there was no need to ask who "she" was. It was Phoenix, her signature causing the energy-sensing mutant pain. Somewhere over the Midwest, Andell had informed the others of what her powers were and that she would be able to find Magneto and Jean so the others knew when they were getting close. Jaklyn watched as Andell pushed herself to her feet and made her way to the front of the plane where Logan was in the co-pilot's seat. "Logan, she's close. She's down there. They all are."

"All who?" Kitty asked, her trepidation plain, as if she wasn't sure if she really wanted to hear the answer.

Andell turned and looked at the tiny, brown-haired girl, a look on her face as if she didn't really want to give the answer. "The Brotherhood. Magneto has gathered so many mutants to his cause, that there's no other word than 'army' to describe it." She kept Kitty's gaze for a moment longer. "But for the most part, they're untrained; street punks."

A shudder of fear went through the younger members of the team, and Logan grabbed Andell's wrist, hard enough that the others could hear her bones grinding against each other. He pulled her down until her ear was nearly pressed to his lips. Jaklyn, with her super-hearing, picked up his growled words: "They don't need to be anymore scared than they already are." And then he let go, shoving her slightly so she was forced to stumble before finding her balance again.

And they didn't have time to be scared, because at that moment, the Blackbird descended towards the island, which was already in the midst of chaos. A battle was already raging. Jaklyn bit of a scream and gripped her boyfriend's hand as hard as she could.

They were all scared, but they all had a job to do. They were the X-Men.

* * *

Mina peered out her window as the plane circled around the island. It looked as if Magneto—who else could do it?—had moved a section of the Golden Gate bridge to cross the water to Alcatraz Island and there was already a significant amount of debris littering the rocky shores of the island. There were bodies too, but only the soldiers protecting Worthington labs looked like they were seriously injured or dead. Magneto's Brotherhood lay on the ground, squirming and looking utterly useless; the only reason Mina could think of for that was the cure. Maybe Worthington had given the soldiers cure-guns or something…

She pushed that thought aside.

The Blackbird landed and the plane gave a slight jolt. Shaking off the last of her nerves, Mina followed Logan off the plane, and the rest fell into line behind her. The young girl set her jaw and let all the anger she held towards John for breaking her heart, towards Magneto for all he'd done, and towards Jean for leaving—even if wasn't her fault—she let all the anger flow through her and into her power; she knew in that moment that if it came to it, today she could transform herself into another mutant and not get a headache. She knew she could be as devastating as she had to be. If it came to that. She let the anger overwhelm her and almost barreled past Logan; if it hadn't been for his hand on her arm, she might have done just that.

Logan wanted to go out first to make sure there was no one waiting to ambush them, and once Mina realized that, she let him, falling back to walk beside Silence, who's hand was firmly in Warren's.

The procession of X-Men reached the edge of the roof, and stared down at the battlefield.

"Holy shit," Mina breathed.

"I second that motion," Silence said.

There was a brief second of hesitation and then the X-Men jumped into the fray.

Storm was the first one down, preceded by lighting and wind, her cape and hair blowing dramatically. Beast leapt down in a graceful arc, as did Kitty and Bobby, who phased into the ground and popped back out again. Mina transformed into a golden eagle and took herself and Silence, with talons wrapped gently around the larger girl's wrists, down to the ground. Piotr, in metal form, wrapped an arm around Jaklyn's waist, holding her close, and leapt from the roof and landed with a resounding and impressive thud, leaving a small crater in the ground. Logan slid down the wall with his claws extended, and Andell did the same, energy cackling around her claws after she landed; more out of his element than the others, Warren took to the air to survey from above and wait for a moment when he could offer assistance. It was an impressive group entrance and for a brief moment afterwards, no one moved and everyone stared at the short line standing in front of the soldiers.

"Hold this line!" Wolverine barked.

Nervous glances went up and down the line of young mutants and then finally, Kitty nodded, signaling for everyone that they would obey.

The moment passed and then it was on.

The mutants of the Brotherhood lunged forward first, their impressive array of powers enough to stall the soldiers behind the X-Men. The team of mutants met the charge head-on, Mina transformed into her favoured form of three silver foxes and did her best to tear through those attacking her, to break free of the ring they were trying to enclose her in. Beside her, Jaklyn appeared, seemingly in control of herself for the moment, and was systematically throwing mutants aside, calling her supernatural strength, even in human form. A column of fire shooting up from the other side of Mina let her know Silence was still okay, and a quick glance let her know everyone was holding their own.

Satisfied, Mina focused all her attention on the battle at hand; it was a weakness she had, at least in battle, that she had to make sure everyone she was with was still okay before she could fight her own battles.

She transformed into a leopard, sleek and black and began tearing through the assaulting mutants with a renewed fervor. Spotting John across the field served only to make her more relentless as she carved a path towards him.

* * *

The only mutants who had made it close to Silence since the battle began were those with fire-based or rock-based powers, who could withstand her heat. She'd already dispatched of most of them. Currently, there were two standing inside the radius of her heat. One was like her, a creator and controller of fire, and his powers would not have any effect on Silence, while the other who was standing inside her circle seemed to be made of lava rock or ash or something; there were lines of red-hot lava peeking out from between cracks in his skin, like he was made up of plates, like the Earth's crust. Under different circumstances, the fiery-haired mutant would have loved to talk about what exactly his powers were.

Right now though, all she cared about was getting him out of her way.

It was lava-boy who stepped forward first, intense heat radiating off his skin; it would have burned anyone else, but Silence just found it pleasant. "I'm going to crush you," he said in a voice that sounded like he was gargling with ashes.

"Bring it, Rocky."

Silence's face split in a wild grin, her hair lifting on a wind generated by the fire encasing her arms; small flames whispered around the ends of her hair and her crimson eyes were alive with firelight. She grabbed Rocky around his thick neck and pumped as much fire into him as she could manage. It seemed to hurt him and Silence felt the plates beneath her hands begin to slide and shift. Maybe he was melting. Briefly she wondered if she could turn him into a puddle of lava. The other fire mutant seemed to realize that his powers weren't going to work, and he tried to leave before he got caught in the melee—maybe he wasn't immune to fire—but he didn't get far.

Bobby showed up at that moment and cooled the firebug off, his skin turning blue before he passed out. "Thought you might need a hand," he said to Silence.

She grinned wildly and backed away from Rocky so Iceman could encase him in ice, the sudden change in temperature causing him to pass into unconsciousness. "Good thinking, Icey."

The light-haired youth tapped the side of his head with two fingers. "Biology."

"Whoever thought that'd be useful?"

The young mutants laughed before leaping into the fray once more.

* * *

Jaklyn tackled another mutant to the ground, slamming her head on a rock and leaving her lying in the gravel. She howled, bowing her back and lifting her head to the sky. It felt wrong coming from her human form, but she gave herself over to the gesture, thinking it might take the edge off the sensations racking her body. With her beast fighting to get out, she was finding it hard to focus on keeping herself alive. She blocked the advance of another mutant, a wolfish growl escaping her throat; Jaklyn felt her eyes go wolf, felt her fangs extend and her nails change to claws.

She cried out again, this time as a young woman, trying to keep herself together.

As a group of mutants rushed towards her, she felt her form slip. The attacks piled on, pinning her to the ground, but her shifting body kept them from being very successful. Jaklyn, now in werewolf form, exploded from under the pile of bodies and began to destroy them. The first one lost his throat, the second an arm and half his head, and the third half a leg before the others grabbed him and ran away from the beast. She lifted her large head to the sky and howled loudly, the sound echoing off the walls of the complex around her.

Some clever mutant thought that would be the opportune moment to attack her, but the werewolf tossed the attacker into a pillar of a nearby guard tower. She growled and lunged after the latest attacker, grabbing him around the neck and one leg and snapping his back on the corner of the pillar. The beast was gaining control. Her movements became more feral, losing the last vestiges of humanity.

Her claws sunk into the flesh of the man's neck, her claws digging in farther than just fingers could ever go and she growled happily as her black fur matted with blood.

Teeth took a chunk out of someone's back and she swallowed it.

And she just moved on.

The all-too-familiar feeling bubbled in her gut and she felt her control slipping away, felt the beast rising to the surface and taking over. Her bones and muscles shifted painfully into her full wolf form, the giant beast taking the place of the half-woman, half-wolf that had been there a few seconds ago. Shaking off the remainder of the pain, the remainder of Jaklyn, the wolf leapt gracefully into a group of mutants fighting Colossus. Her teeth wrapped around an ankle at the same time her claws dug into mounds of other flesh, and quickly she became sheathed in blood.

"Jaklyn!"

Inside the beastly form, the young mutant heard Colossus calling to her, but, as before, she could not respond. Her only solace was that since there were plenty of targets for her beast to attack, so there was less of a chance that she would attack Piotr or anyone she cared about. _Be careful of me, Piotr… _

Jaklyn screamed as the wolf howled again, her control slipping farther away than it had before.

She was out of enemies.

The wolf turned towards Piotr, the taste of blood on her tongue and the need for more coursing through her body.

Something heavy collided with Jaklyn's side, sending the wolf tumbling into a pile of rubble. She snarled and growled and hissed as she tried to break free of whatever was holding her, and as the animal was rolled onto her back, Jaklyn's eyes, inside her mind, saw the purplish gaze of Andell looking down at her, energy cackling around them both. The female version of Logan's face was twisted into a strange combination of anger, confusion and something resembling pity, but her purple eyes were hard and she wasn't letting Jaklyn get away easily.

The wolf had other ideas.

While Jaklyn fought for control inside her own mind and fought not to see the feral thoughts running through her beast's mind, the wolf twisted free, sinking her fangs into the fleshy muscle of Andell's shoulder. Andell responded in kind by driving her claws into the wolf's side and pushing her towards another group of Magneto's mutants.

"Fight them!" Andell bellowed.

Jaklyn pleaded with the wolf in her mind. _Please, listen to her. Fight them, not our friends. Not Piotr… _

The wolf growled and stared at Andell.

The older mutant knocked an attacker away as she returned the weighted stare.

Jaklyn sighed in relief as her wolf turned from Piotr and Andell and lunged into the remainder of the mutants.

* * *

From his place far above the chaos of battle, Warren watched the X-Men hold their line and keep the Brotherhood from getting to the complex, to his father and the source of the cure. He spun in slow circles above the island, keeping in the clouds to avoid being shot by an over-eager soldier or taken down by one of the more talented mutants. He watched Silence repeatedly create pillars of flame and he was afraid of her power, but knew she would never turn those powers on him.

At some point in the battle, after the hoard of nameless mutants had been stopped but before Magneto himself entered the battle, Warren saw the small girl—was her name Kitty?—run towards the complex, chasing after a giant mutant. He knew they were going after the source of the cure, and while his father had never revealed to him exactly what the source was, Warren Sr. had told his son where it was. Warren turned towards the far side of the complex, hoping he could lend a hand in some way, but as he did, he saw something that nearly made him stop in midair.

His father.

Being held over the edge of the roof.

For the first time that he could remember, Warren felt an intense surge of anger. The mutants holding his father let the older man go, let him fall and Warren didn't think.

He dived, accelerating faster than he ever had before and wrapped his arms around his father, catching the bigger man's weight as if it was nothing. He readjusted his grip and headed for a roof as far away from the fighting as he could get. Because, regardless of what his father had done and the way he'd treated Warren, he did love his son and he was still Warren's father.

"Warren…" the elder man breathed once he was safely on his feet.

"Not now Dad." He moved to take off, but Warren Sr. grabbed his son's arm and pulled him back.

"I'm sorry…"

Warren smiled at his Dad and then leapt into the air once more.

* * *

When the first car-fireball hit the ground beside her, Silence screamed. It wasn't a scream out of fear or grief—it was a scream of rage and it was all for her brother, who was standing beside Magneto, launching flames skyward to the cars. The rest of the X-Men and the soldiers ran for cover, but Silence remained in the open and pointed a hand towards her brother. She didn't put any words to her rage, but screamed it, launching flame towards John in a faster, larger torrent than ever before.

As she knew he would, John absorbed it, but he turned his eyes to his sister and used another jet of flame to knock one of the cars in her direction. She stood there until the last possible second and then dove out of the way, rolling behind the nearest car, where Wolverine was taking cover.

The rugged man looked from Pyro to Iceman. "Can you take care of your classmate?" he asked.

Iceman nodded and ran out from behind the car, Mina and Silence hot on his tail. No one tried to stop them, because everyone knew how the girls felt and nothing they could stay would stop them anyway.

As the boys started their face off, Wolverine turned to look at the X-Men. Storm was fine, if a little shaken after killing Calisto, Bobby, Silence and Mina were all in one piece and ready to tear John a new one, Beast and Andell were on the other side of the little clearing the cars had made, Kitty was inside the complex getting the boy who was the source of all the trouble, and Logan didn't know where that boy Warren had ended up. When his eyes found Piotr and Jaklyn however, something inside snapped.

Jaklyn, in full wolf form, had her teeth wrapped around Colossus' metal arm and it looked like she was trying to pull it from the socket.

Logan closed the distance between himself and the wolf and pulled her from Colossus, sparks issuing from where her teeth scraped against the organic metal. He wrestled a bit with the wolf—Colossus falling back to where Storm and the others were waiting—before knocking her unconscious. She reverted back to her human form and Logan pulled her back to the others, where she could wake up and not be killed. Piotr, now in his human form, took Jaklyn in his arms while they tried to figure out what they were going to do next.

Wolverine's eyes scanned the area and he found something they could use. A broken cartridge from one of the cure guns, all four needles still intact. An idea started to form.

"Storm," he said. "I'm going to need some cover."

* * *

**Author's Note.**

Holy shit. I updated my X-Men fic.

Blame it on getting a whole lot of reviews from people asking if I was ever going to update this again. It's been hanging around for so long, I thought it might be time to take another stab at this one. Hopefully it goes okay.

Anyways, I hope people still read this after so long. And I don't mean you, Shauna, because I know you'll read it, if only for Mina. *sticks tongue out* But I hope whoever does read it likes it, and I hope you all find it better than what proceeded it, because it's my personal opinion that I am a much better writer than I was since I posted chapter eight of this story. And going along with style-change, please forgive any character quirks that have changed.

I'll stop asking for forgiveness now…

Also, sorry for the bit of recap at the beginning. I needed to get back into the mindset and that helps me.

Enjoy, because I don't know what the next chapter will be around. I think I want to try and finish this one up first though, just to get it out of the way and off my mind. There are seven planned chapters left.

**Next Chapter: In Love. **


	10. Chapter Ten: In Love

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Ten: In Love.

* * *

_Ugggghhh… _

She was surrounded by darkness and her body was numb. That was, assuming she still had a body and wasn't just a consciousness floating somewhere in the ether. She wasn't even sure her eyes were open. There was nothing to see. She tried to look around, but couldn't. She started to panic, her breaths coming faster and her vision—if you could call it that—was starting to fill with grey spots.

_**Just let it out.**_

_No. _She shook what would have been her head, trying to rid her mind of the voice and the dark, violent thoughts that accompanied it. The voice repeated and it seemed to echo through her core. It hurt, but she was determined to remain in control until she figured out what was going on and where she was.

_**Just let it out.**_

_No! _She shook her head harder and pain lashed through her being.

Jaklyn awoke very suddenly to find herself propped against a car and the metal was warm, almost too hot to touch. She had a massive headache and her body ached all over, but could still move. She groaned and pushed herself away from the disabled vehicle, climbing slowly to a crouching position, leery of the beast inside; it wouldn't do for her to lose control again. She may not have been sure how she ended up unconscious, but she did know where she was and that sticking her head up could be a bad idea, even with the thick fog that was now obscuring the island. Where had the fog come from? It hadn't been foggy when they landed. That could only mean one thing: Storm.

She took a moment to figure out what kind of shape she was in before she moved any more. Jaklyn could breathe with no pain aside from the general aching, and there didn't seem to be any open wounds on her body, although she was covered in blood and she had no idea how much of it was hers. Her hair had come out of its ponytail and one side of her uniform was torn, three evenly spaced slashes visible as the source of the damage, but they weren't from Wolverine; they were too close together. There was no fresh blood, so it had happened, at the very least, several minutes before.

If Andell had had to attack her… What exactly had she done?

Jaklyn shook her head and tried to collect her thoughts. She knew she was in the middle of the battlefield—she could still hear the noises of fighting and screaming and yells as power was expelled and pain as experienced—but in her current spot, she seemed relatively safe.

Deciding she was in no immediate danger, the mutant known as Terror used her heightened senses to locate everyone in the thick fog. As soon as all her senses clicked into place however, something prickled at the back of her throat: something coppery and sweet and nauseating. Jaklyn doubled over and threw up, gobbets of something that looked an awful lot like human—or mutant—flesh coming up with the burning bile. The nausea passed and her other senses flooded to the forefront, specifically her sense of smell. She tried to ignore the stenches of death and vomit and blood and concentrate on those familiar scents; as Andell had committed the pressures of the X-Men to memory, so had Jaklyn done with their smells. It was a trick she'd learned a while ago from Mina. Her nostrils flared as the familiar metallic smell of Colossus filled her nose and she took off in that direction, staying low and not bothering to search out anyone else until she was on the move, and only to make sure they were still alive. When the shining skin of her boyfriend came into view, however, she forgot all about the others and thought only of the comfort Piotr could offer against her powers; she was shaking slightly, from exhaustion more than fear.

Piotr was just finishing tossing Logan into the distance when Jaklyn stumbled up to his side. When she placed a hand on his arm, he turned and for a moment was still, as if he was startled to see her or… was unsure what she was going to do.

Jaklyn sighed heavily as the thought hit her and took a step back, balling her hands into fists. Panic gripped her chest tightly, but she tried to ignore it. There wasn't time. "It's me…" she said quietly. Even as she said it, she realized that she must have done something to put those thoughts in his head. "It's really me…"

He opened his mouth to say something, but there was a yell and then a cacophony of gun shots followed by screams, effectively cutting him off. Colossus looked at her and then took Terror's hand in his own and pulled her away, the girl muttering something about Jean's scent changing, becoming more feral and the power crackling through the air confirming that assessment. The fog very suddenly began to clear, and Jean's red-clad form could be seen gliding through the air, several feet above the ground and heading towards the centre of the clearing, leaving the bridge wide open for escape.

"Are you okay to run?" Piotr asked as they clambered up the rubble in front of the bridge.

Jaklyn looked over her shoulder at what used to be Jean as her power tore over the island, obliterating buildings, soldiers, mutants and the Blackbird, disintegrating everything. She was tired, freaked out by what she might have done and by the way Piotr had reacted to her, but she could run. She had to run. Jaklyn turned and looked up at Piotr. "I can run, but we can't go too far. What if we're needed? What if…"

He didn't let her finish. Piotr pulled her along after him, and they were joined by the other X-Men, Kitty appearing out of nowhere, a bald boy dressed completely in white following close behind: the source of the cure; Jaklyn remembered Beast telling them his name was Jimmy, a.k.a. Leech. Kitty was breathing heavily and looked shaken, but was otherwise fine. Bobby joined them soon after encased completely in ice, yet still moving around like normal, while Silence and Mina behind him were looking very satisfied, despite the chaos reigning down around them. Both girls had soot smeared across their faces and Silence was holding one arm tightly to her side, and the gleaming edge of bone could be seen sticking out near her elbow through a layer of blood. The younger generation of mutants clambered onto the bridge and ran back a safe distance, hiding behind the parked and abandoned cars. From their vantage point, they could see Alcatraz Island as it began to literally disappear.

And they were all terrified.

"Where are Storm and Logan and the others?" Bobby asked, looking around once they were somewhere they considered safe. His fear was plain on his face, but his words came out calm and steady.

Jaklyn looked at her friend, who was no longer covered in ice, and then turned towards the island, trying to use her superior vision to see what was going on. She could not. Fighting down a scream of frustration, she turned and looked at Jimmy, trying not to glare; it wasn't him she was angry at. But her fear was rapidly turning into anger, because that was something she and her beast knew. Picking up on what the girl was trying to do, Kitty took the boy into the circle of her arms and pulled him back far enough that Jaklyn could once again summon up her heightened senses. As her vision in her natural eye matched the level in her mechanical eye, Jaklyn realized that some of the nausea rolling in her gut had been from the imbalance in her vision.

Just as she was about to turn her newly rebalanced gaze to the island, Storm and Beast came running across the bridge, wide smiles spreading across both their faces as they saw the students were all safe and in relatively one piece each.

"Is everyone okay?" Storm asked, her kind eyes roving over the assembled group, taking a silent headcount and making a mental list of visible injuries. As her gaze reached Jimmy, she dropped to a crouch and extended her hands to the boy and he walked slowly towards her. "Are you okay?" she asked and she sighed with relief when he nodded.

"What about Logan?" Kitty asked.

Storm and Beast both gazed back towards the island, and something in their faces made Jaklyn turn her head sharply back to the island. The vanishing land mass sharpened in her vision and she gasped, the noise turning into a deep growl. She must have made some movement forward, because the next thing she knew, her back was pressed against Piotr's chest and his large arms were wrapped tightly around her middle, pinning her arms to her side.

"SHE'S KILLING LOGAN!" she roared, struggling. She growled again, her skin starting to ripple; a precursor of the change.

Jimmy pulled away from Storm and very cautiously approached Jaklyn. When he was within range, her skin settled and she stopped struggling. She fell slack in Piotr's arms, breathing heavily and a look of fear and worry on her face.

"Logan will be okay, Jaki," Mina said, as she and Silence crouched in front of Jaklyn. "Just worry about… yourself."

* * *

After Wolverine and Beast had taken away Magneto's powers using the cure, and after the army had arrived and tried to stop Phoenix, all hell broke loose. And that wasn't really a metaphor. The telepath's powers were ripping through everything on the island, and everyone had gone running, trying to escape certain obliteration even as some of the friends and fellow soldiers were ripped to pieces behind them. If Andell hadn't been able to withstand the power, she would have joined them; as it was, she was kind of thinking about running across the bridge because she was scared, and she didn't scare easily. The Phoenix had relocated herself to the approximate centre of the island and around her, water from the bay rose into the air, as did chunks of rock and fragments of bodies.

But it wasn't the awesome display of power that had Andell's eye.

Andell stood at the bottom of the hill of rubble that had become the Phoenix's stage, claws extended and energy cackling around her with more ferocity than she could recall it ever happening before; the purple bolts had spread from her claws and hands and were dancing up her arms and across her chest. But her thoughts weren't on that, or what the increased electricity could mean for her. Andell's purple eyes were glued ahead, to the scene unfolding in front of her; to the man climbing the slope, even as he screamed, even as he repeatedly disappeared and came as close to dying as he could. Even as the woman he loved tried to kill him, tried to disintegrate him the way she'd done to everything and almost everyone else on the island.

Almost as if to reinforce her thoughts, a wave of Phoenix's powers hit Andell and she felt her skin tear away. She winced, but did not close her eyes, because she could still not believe what she was seeing.

Subject 113 had come searching for the Wolverine, Weapon X, because she wanted revenge—it was because of his successful surgery that she had been given the Adamantium skeleton and claws—but more than that, since Logan was indestructible, she wanted some answers. She had never been told why she'd been offered the chance, and she didn't know why she'd accepted. Her chain of reasoning had been that maybe this man who had been through everything might be able to give her some insight.

She hadn't expected to find herself hopeful upon finding him.

But she was.

Standing there at the bottom of the hill, watching the tragic scene, feeling the unrestrained love from Logan towards Jean, Andell was hopeful, because maybe there was a chance she could still have a life that didn't revolve around killing.

A life like the one Logan had with the X-Men.

Another wave of Jean's power hit Andell knocking her to her knees and tearing away most of her flesh and clothing and knocking any revelations she was about to have from the forefront of her mind. She cried out, but still didn't take her eyes from the two mutants in front of her, she couldn't. She clung to the only glimmer of hope she'd seen in years. In the wake of Jean's power came Logan's sorrow and it drove the wind from Andell's lungs. She dropped to her hands, so she was crouching on all fours, and she gasped, trying to gather enough air to keep herself from passing out, but still her purple eyes didn't leave Logan.

He had reached the top of the hill, and was standing in front of the terrifying figure of Phoenix.

He grabbed her around the waist.

He extended his claws and drove them into her gut, angling upwards and hitting her heart.

And then he screamed and Andell screamed with him because she felt his heart break and she felt Jean, the Jean Logan had loved—she felt Jean's happiness that she had finally been freed from the Phoenix, that she had been saved. Andell screamed with Logan as the water and debris that been held in the air by telekinesis came crashing down around them. Andell screamed and for the first time she could recall since she'd been given her metal bones, she felt tears slide down her face. The weight of Logan's pain was almost too much.

A final burst of energy from Jean, not Phoenix, was what finally did Andell in.

She screamed once more and collapsed against the rocky ground, her sensitively to energy keeping her pinned and her claws painfully extended. Purplish bolts of energy started jumping around her whole body, drawn out by Jean's power, like lightning to metal. Andell managed to turn her head so she could see Logan kneeling, hands held up as Jean's body vanished in the same manner the island had under her will. His head was thrown back. He was crying.

And she cried harder.

When Andell could move again, she pushed herself to all fours and took a deep, gasping breath in, her claws retracting and the energy around her dissipating, even as the parts of her body removed began to heal, flesh once more covering her metal bones. Most of her jacket, shirt and bra were gone, as well as about half her jeans and one of her boots, leaving her half-naked. She didn't really care. At some point during the chaos, she hadn't been sure she'd heal completely—she'd never faced so much energy before—so she was glad she was returned to her normal state. Back on her feet, she rotated her neck, metal joints cracking, and turned back towards the hill. Logan was no longer on top of it, but striding down towards her, looking no less confident than he had when Andell had met him, even though she knew he was devastated.

He stopped in front of her, his gaze heavy. "You okay?" he asked after a long minute of silence.

She nodded once, jaw clenched and tear stains visible on her cheeks. She didn't ask if he was okay, but she knew the answer and asking might have been cruel.

Right then, she didn't want to cause any pain.

She kicked her remaining boot off and followed Logan across the battlefield in her bare feet, keeping her mouth closed.

* * *

**Author's Note.**

HOLY SHIT ANOTHER UPDATE.

You may all be floored now, because, baby, I am on a roll.

Also, Matt, FEAR MY COMMAS. THEY WILL ATTACK YOU IN YOUR SLEEP FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT.

, , , , , , , , ,

Sorry, I'm sick and need about a million hours of sleep. And Matt doesn't like commas. *sticks out tongue*

(This period of insanity has been brought to you by Leigh and Shauna, the co-chairs of the Insane Canadian Women Society.)

Okay, so for the record, Andell seems a little wishy-washy because she doesn't have any loyalties. She's able to change sides so quickly because she only cares about herself. And while she cares for the X-Men after just meeting them, it's the type of caring you feel towards a little kid you don't know or something akin to that. It can be powerful, but it's not permanent unless something forces you to make in permanent. In Andell's case, her curiosity is what keeps her going, and specifically in this story, it's the curiosity revolving herself and Logan and their Adamantium bones.

I hope that makes sense.

Hey, has anyone noticed that I say "for the record" a lot? Because I JUST noticed that. You'd think with me knowing me as well as I do, that I would have realized that before, but I didn't.

Huh.

There are six chapters left, and some of you are wondering how the hell I'm going to stretch the rest of the movie out into six chapters, and the answer is, I'm not! This fic extends beyond the movie because, well, for one, I wanted it to, and two, when I finished the planning for the movie, there were still a bunch of questions left unanswered about the OCs and some of the canon that I wanted to, well, answer. Also, at the time of planning this fic, there was another X-Men fic in the works. I still have the planning and stuff for that one, so depends on how the response is when this one ends, I might put it on the docket.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter please. And review!

**Next Chapter: Break For Peace. **


	11. Chapter Eleven: Break For Peace

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Eleven: Break For Peace.

* * *

Alcatraz Island was quarantined off the public once again.

The United States Armed Forces who had been around the island during the battle set about destroying the section of the Golden Gate Bridge and picking through whatever debris was left; Phoenix hadn't left much in her wake. The X-Men left as soon as it was possible for them to do so, which meant they had to answer some questions and explain what had happened, and none of them really felt like talking. Logan refused to talk all together and moved away from the group, standing silently near a group of trees and seriously considering running away, but Andell's sudden appearance at his side quelled those thoughts and instead the pair of Adamantium-boned mutants stood staring at each other, some secret challenge in the air between them.

When the X-Men finally arrived back at the mansion—sans Warren and his father, who was so shaken by the experience that his son thought it would be a bad idea to leave him alone—everyone who had been involved in the battle showered, changed and went to bed. Everyone who had not been involved wondered what could have been so bad to render them all speechless. Some of the older kids who had stayed behind had seen the coverage on the news, but the cameras had cut out as soon as Phoenix had joined the fray, so they were partially in the dark.

The next morning, when everyone was awake and moving—or, in the case of some of the X-Men, just awake—Ororo gave everyone an accurate recollection of what had happened on Alcatraz Island. It was not a happy day at the Xavier School for the Gifted. The loss of Jean was the third loss in a row of someone important to the mansion, someone deeply loved and someone the inhabitants had already thought they'd gotten over. Wounds from Jean's death at Alkali Lake were rubbed raw and torn open and, as another headstone was erected beside the Professor's and Scott's, the mansion once again fell into a state of tense silence and mourning. There wasn't a whole lot of interaction and as the spring gave way to summer, classes were cancelled and everyone was left to find their feet again.

After a couple days, things started to return to normal. The students who lived at the mansion year round fell into the former routines of watching television, reading, playing outside, swimming, practicing their powers—whatever they wanted to do. Ororo busied herself with making sure the mansion was ready to reopen as a school in the fall, and Hank McCoy—when he wasn't working as the United States representative to the United Nations, offered his help wherever it was needed.

Logan spent all of his time in the garage working on his motorcycle or wandering aimlessly around the grounds, and Andell was never far behind. On the fourth day after the battle, as he was crossing the expansive back yard, he stopped and turned to face the ageless woman, his cigar dangling from between his lips and his eyes narrowed slightly in a scowl. "Why are you still here?" he grumbled. It was a lot nicer than some things he could have said, and she seemed to register that fact. But she didn't answer immediately. "Well?"

"I don't know," she said finally.

Logan blinked. "What do you mean you don't know? I thought you wanted answers or to fight me or something."

"Maybe."

He shrugged and kept walking, Andell followed a few steps behind. She had gone shopping to replace her clothes that had been destroyed in the fight, and the new leather of her boots creaked loudly in the bubble of silence surrounding them. Logan made it about another twenty steps before he turned around again. "What's the deal with you anyway?" he asked, gesturing towards her with the glowing end of his cigar.

She stood, hands on her hips and head titled to one side.

"Why did you want to find me?" he asked, rephrasing the question.

"To get answers. I wanted to know why Stryker made me, and I figured since you were the first successful experiment, you would know." She frowned, and Logan knew there was something more. He remained quiet until Andell could gather her words. "He told me I volunteered for the program."

"And you don't know how you could have done that."

Andell shook her head, her long brown ponytail sliding over her shoulder as she did so. Almost subconsciously, one hand rose to twirl the end of her hair, and there was something very vulnerable in the gesture. "He also liked to tell me that I had left a family behind to become part of his weapon program. A son and a daughter. They'd be grown up now."

"I don't have answers for you, Andell."

"I think I knew that already."

"So then why are you still here?"

"…I don't know."

Logan huffed, stuck his cigar back in his mouth and continued the trek across the lawn, heading back towards the garage. As he knew she would, Andell followed, her hands shoved into the pockets of her new jeans and her purple eyes cast downward. He knew what she was going through, because he had gone through it years before; she was looking for somewhere to belong. Logan hadn't known that's what he was looking for either, not until he found it at the mansion with the other mutants… with Jean. He cast a glance over his shoulder and almost opened his mouth to tell her such, but thought again and kept it closed. It might be better if she figured out what she was looking for on her own.

Dimly, Logan wondered if he had left a family behind as well.

* * *

"I don't know how she could have gotten the cure," Silence said as her eyes found Rogue, sitting beside Bobby on one of the benches, their hands intertwined and brilliant smiles on both of their faces. She turned her head so she could look at Warren, who was lying, if somewhat uncomfortably on the grass beside her. He had flown to New York the previous day, after he was sure his father was okay to be alone, and he had flown during the day and loved it. "I wouldn't give up my powers for anything. They're too much a part of me."

Warren shrugged his right shoulder, which made the corresponding wing rustle through the grass. He had positioned his left wing close to his body so Silence could lie next to him and not crush his wing. "I can understand why she wanted to get it."

Silence frowned, but was silent for a few moments as she tried to put herself in Rogue's position. Pausing to think was a new skill in her arsenal and one she wasn't very good at yet. "Eh… I _guess _I can understand…" She smiled down at Warren and ran her fingers along his wing to make her point.

"Silence," Warren said, his voice suddenly serious.

She pulled her hand away and rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow, her dark red locks falling around her shoulders and arms softly. Her face fell to match the serious tone of Warren's, although hers was slightly more mocking. "Yes Warren?"

"What are you going to do in the fall?"

The frown she'd been using to mock her boyfriend turned deadly serious and she fell back down the lie on the grass. Silence sighed heavily and covered her face with her hands because this was a topic she had not wanted to discuss today. Mina and Jaklyn weren't really sure what they were going to do, although they were thinking about staying at the mansion and teaching, but nobody was keen on talking out the details. Not that Silence could talk to Jaklyn anyway, because her wolfy friend was staying as far away from anyone except her boyfriend, and that was a connection she was only maintaining because Piotr would not let her be by herself. Silence had thought about staying on and teaching, but she wasn't sure she could handle it. She had also thought about going to school in New York, but she wasn't sure she really wanted to. She had thought about traveling the world, but that didn't exactly appeal to her either. She was lost.

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. Silence dropped her hands from her face and turned her head to look at Warren. His cheeks had turned a slight shade of red that meant he was worried about asking something or he was embarrassed about what he was thinking. "What?"

"Why… why don't you come to California?"

Silence sat up and was, for once, true to her name. When she found her words, Warren was sitting up as well, looking afraid that he'd said something very wrong. "Warren… That's… California is across the country."

"I just thought—"

The redhead held up her hand and took a deep breath. "Don't apologize, Warren. It's okay. It's an idea, and I do need other options, but… I can't give you an answer right away."

"I could… maybe move here. Stay at the mansion with you and the X-Men."

"Warren, I appreciate this, but you've got let me figure out what I'm going to do by myself, okay?"

Silence took another deep breath and part of her brain was alarmed at how much these suggestions seemed to bother her. She hadn't thought of herself as someone afraid of commitment, because that was what Warren was suggesting. Not in so many words of course, but if she was to pick up and move cross-country, it would take some serious dedication to her relationship with Warren. It would take some serious dedication _at all _to leave Mina and Jaklyn, her friends, her family and her life at the mansion in New York. She loved California—it was warm and there were lots of interesting people—but she loved New York too. She sighed once more and fell back, rather heavily, into the grass.

* * *

Jaklyn had pressed herself into the corner of the window seat in her room and her cheek was against the glass of the window; her eyes seemingly glued to some sight down on the lawn. She was dressed in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of shorts, and there was a thick blue blanket draped across her legs. Piotr sat at her feet with his back against the window, one hand on her knee. They had sat there in silence for a long, long time. Piotr was getting a little anxious.

"Jaki… Why don't we go downstairs?" he said.

She shook her head, a barely perceptible movement. "I don't want to be around anyone in case I freak out."

Piotr sighed. It had been the same argument since they had returned from Alcatraz Island. "You managed to control yourself when we were on the island," he offered. "Maybe you have figured it out?"

Jaklyn lifted her head and scowled, her mechanical eye whirring slightly as it adjusted to the new set. "I have not, Piotr. I can feel it. Just under the surface. It's going to break out at some point and attack someone and I don't want to hurt anyone else! I can't take it!" She sniffed, fighting back tears and dropped her head back against the window. "Fighting is the only thing that keeps it under control, and I can't spend my life fighting! Without the Professor's mind block in place, I can't control the stupid beast."

He shifted closer to her, forcing her to unfold her legs and put them on his lap. "You can beat this, Jaki."

She rolled her eyes back to look at him, a very deep frown creasing her face and darkening her eyes. "While I appreciate your optimism, I don't subscribe to it."

"Jaklyn... You can fight me if you have to. You can't hurt me in my metal form."

She sat up straight and glared angrily at her boyfriend, everything she was feeling towards herself suddenly pointed at the big Russian. The beast inside roared in her head and Jaklyn felt her body temperature rise. The only reason she didn't leap across the window seat and wrap her hands around Piotr's throat was because Jaklyn was so physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted that the beast couldn't get a foot hold. As the fit passed, she settled back against the window, but drew farther into herself, pulling her legs up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She pressed her face into her knees and drew in a sharp breath as she started to cry. "I'm not going to fight you, Piotr..." she mumbled.

He slid along the window seat until he was once again sitting next to her. Before he touched her however, he ran his fingers back through his black hair, sighed and told himself leaving Jaklyn alone at the moment would not be a good thing. "Jaklyn..." he whispered. Piotr placed a hand on her shoulder and ran it down her arm. "_Lapushka_..." She looked up, her cheeks wet and her biological eye red and puffy. "It means 'little paw'." Jaklyn's mouth twitched in a small smile and she shifted so she could curl in a ball under his arm. "_Lapushka, _I will fight if you want me to, but I am not going to let you go through this alone." He pressed his lips to the top of her head and then her temple. "Just let me know what you want me to do..."

She nuzzled against his chest and pulled his arm tighter around her. "Thank you Piotr..."

* * *

Mina felt drained. Completely drained.

Like Jaklyn, she was exhausted in every way possible, and like Silence, she was afraid of the coming months, and like Kitty—who was currently sitting on the end of the couch in the library where Mina was lying, reading a book—she was very uneasy, which didn't jive well with the exhaustion. But unlike any of her friends, she had no one to turn to, to take comfort in. Jaklyn had Piotr who refused to leave her side, even when she couldn't be easy to be around, and Silence had Warren who was just about the most calming guy one could be around. Kitty was spending a lot of time talking to and hanging around Bobby, and the pair seemed to take great comfort in each other's company, even if they were nothing more than friends; Rogue had returned, but her sudden change was proving hard for the other mutants to adjust to.

But Mina had no one.

She sighed and rolled onto her side on the couch, her book falling off the edge of the couch as her weight shifted the cushions. The couch was very comfortable and she hadn't moved for several hours.

"Mina," Kitty said.

"Mhm?"

"Do you want anything to drink? Eat?"

Mina rolled back over so she could half-sit up and look at her friend. "No thanks." She brushed some of her auburn hair back from her face and blinked her pale blue eyes. "Kitty... How have you... been?" It was an awkward way to ask the question, but she was sure it would get the point across.

Kitty, who had been in the process of getting off the couch, fell back down and sighed. Suddenly, the chipper attitude fell away and revealed that she was just as exhausted as Mina. "Okay... considering, I guess..." She sighed again, heavier and sunk farther back into the well-worn cushions of the dark brown couch. "I mean... we went through this last year when Jean died and now we have to go through it again... and Scott and the Professor are gone too... It's just so much to process at once."

"I know what you mean." Mina sat up and settled into the couch beside her friend. "We can't catch a break..."

"Maybe we can now that we're 'out of the closet', so to speak."

Mina huffed her frustration and nodded. Hank McCoy was the United States representative to the United Nations and he had worked in the White House for quite a long time. Everywhere across the country, mutants were walking the streets and the non-mutants were doing their very best not to point and stare. For many mutants, like herself and Kitty, walking around, mingling with humans was easy because there was nothing odd about their appearance, but there were those, like Beast, who stood out. They were "out of the closet", but Mina wasn't sure it would be any easier to be a mutant in the United States, or anywhere in the world; racism had not be erased, as many would like to believe

"Let's hope."

"Hey Mina," Kitty said, the tone of her voice changing subtly. She pulled her hair out of her ponytail, ran her fingers back through her chestnut locks and shook it out. "What's... How's Jaki holding up?"

"The last time I saw her, she looked healthier than she had in a while, but she wouldn't talk to me. She only comes down from her room when she wants food, and she doesn't talk to anyone. Keeps her gaze down. Peter won't leave her side," she added somewhat cautiously, since there was a history between Kitty and the big Russian known as Colossus. "I think he's afraid she'll start drinking again."

"What exactly is bothering her?"

It took Mina a moment to realize Kitty probably didn't know about the mental filter the Professor had put in Jaklyn's mind. Since Kitty's mutation progressed at what was considered a normal rate and all progression had been predictable. "The Professor put a filter in her mind to make sure her mutation didn't progress too rapidly and kill her or make her kill someone she cared about. When... When he died, the filter went with him and left her open to this part of her she didn't know how to deal with yet." Mina remembered the way Jaklyn had reacted when she'd met Wolverine for the first time. "It's like the other part of her is completely animal."

"Is that why she spends so much time in the Danger Room?"

Mina nodded. "Nobody knows what to do, and she won't talk to anyone."

"Well... let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Thanks Kitty."

"Want to go for a walk?" Kitty asked after a moment. "I think we should get out of this library for a bit."

Mina paused, thinking the prospect over, and then nodded. "I think you're right, Kitty. Let's go."

* * *

**Author's Note.**

Hey Shauna! Jaklyn whirs like Logan! Ah, Michael Weatherly.

Hey Matt! Jaklyn has a pet name now! *is proud of self*

In case any of ya missed it, _lapushka _means "little paw" in Russian. It's a term of endearment. I don't know what the "paw" part really refers to, but I thought it was cute since, ya know, Jaki's a wolf and all. *sticks tongue out* Also, _lapushka _sounds cute and Piotr is a cute-names kinda guy.

Anyways, sorry this took a little longer. Blame it on work and lack of sleep... and naw, just blame it on me. I want to finish this fic so I can get it off my list, but Jaklyn isn't talking very loud. Andell's practically yelling, but I'm not really telling her story, and Silence has been begging me for her own story since she walked onto the page, but I haven't got anything for her. So after this fic is done, I'll be moving away from X-Men for a while. Possibly forever. But we'll see, I guess. It depends on how strong the urge for fanfiction stays as I get deeper into my original world.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Four chapters left! This chapter was, like the title said, a break, and it was used to set the tone for the last four chapters. ...If that makes sense.

**Next Chapter: Bloodthirsty. **


	12. Chapter Twelve: Bloodthirsty

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Twelve: Bloodthirsty.

* * *

Andell was sitting with her back against a tree and her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them and Logan was leaning against another tree opposite the ageless woman; Andell wasn't very tall, so being curled into a ball made her look quite tiny. The daylight had faded, leaving the shade under the trees almost impenetrable, but as both of the mutants had heightened senses, the darkness was not a problem. The Adamantium-laced mutants had been sitting in generally the same position for a few hours and neither of them had said anything for quite some time, both searching for the right words. Or, at least Andell was. She had questions, but she couldn't think of how to begin asking.

"What are you going to do now that Jean's dead?" she eventually asked, deciding that jumping right into the heavy stuff was the best course of action. For some reason.

The look on Logan's face made her wish she hadn't asked though. "What's it matter to you?" he snapped, chewing angrily at the end of his unlit cigar. His arms were crossed and his fingers flexed against his biceps, telegraphing his desire to extend his claws and use them, probably on Andell.

She shrugged, actually as nonchalant as she looked. After all, Logan's claws couldn't kill her and she couldn't kill him. They could fight—in fact, she was beginning to suspect they would fight—until they both fainted from exhaustion. If that could happen. "I was just asking a question. No need to get all wound up." Andell ran her fingers back through her hair. "You've made this your home, and I know you loved her... So what are you going to do now?" she asked again. Her purple eyes focused on the older mutant, daring him to act on his anger.

Logan scowled. "I don't have time for your shit." He turned and started walking again, but he didn't get far before he turned on his heel and marched back to stand in front of Andell.

"You're just as lost as I am," she observed.

The mutant known as Wolverine frowned as he watched Andell rise to her feet. She looked up at Logan, took in his anger and braced herself, just before his fist connected with her stomach, his claws sliding through her shirt and flesh. Andell gasped, crimson blood dribbling from her bottom lip as she doubled over Logan's arm, her hands grasping at his skin for purchase. Their eyes locked and she grinned at him, the bloodlust filling her being at the same time Logan fell into the trap. She extended her claws, the metal sliding into his arm as she grabbed at him. Using Logan's sturdy stance, Andell braced herself on his knees and pushed herself off his claws, performing a flawless back walkover to get herself back on her feet.

But Logan didn't get her any time to find her balance again. He lunged forward, claws sinking into her shoulders and knocking her onto her back. He ended up straddling her stomach, his superior weight and strength keeping her pinned. Andell growled, slid her claws into Logan's ribs, the metal of her claws hitting the metal of his bones and then she turned on the juice. The purple-blue electricity cackled around them both.

Logan finally pulled himself away from the source of what had to be intense pain and stumbled backward, gasping and bleeding and blistered. Andell rolled to her feet and leapt towards him with a scream of rage that said the fight was nowhere over. If she had to kick some ass to prove herself, that's what she was going to do, especially if it meant getting Logan to talk to her without all the back and forth and verbal sparring. Her claws sunk into his gut and she used her momentum to swing around to his back where she stabbed him repeatedly, including once in the neck; it was bringing back memories for Logan, memories of fighting the only other mutant laced with Adamantium, but Andell didn't know that. Logan ran backward, smashing the mutant on his back into the truck of a tree and gave a savage laugh when she howled in pain, a laugh that turned to a snarl as Andell bit his ear, her teeth going almost all the way through the thin flesh.

Andell collapsed to the ground as Logan moved away from the tree. "Fuck," she gasped, the noise turning into a bitter laugh at the end. "That hurt."

Logan whirled around and stared at the mutant best described as a female version of himself. She was lying on her back on the ground, her limbs in a spread-eagle pattern and her chest moving up and down as she breathed in and out heavily. She was covered in blood, but there was a smile on her face and she looked oddly relieved. He crossed the distance between them and dropped to a crouch beside her, knowing he looked quite similar to Andell.

"You're no pushover yourself," he admitted. Logan looked around until he found the butt of his cigar before jamming it back between his teeth and chewing.

Anger satisfied, Logan dropped to a sitting position beside Andell, who was struggling to a similar position. "Now what?" she asked once she was propped against the tree.

"I have no idea."

Andell pulled a matchbook out of her pocket and lit one of the matches before she leaned over and lit the cigar hanging out of her companion's mouth. The orange glow seemed harsh after the intense darkness, but at the same time it was comforting. The pair lapsed into silence again, but it wasn't as tense with all the violence—or at least the immediate violence—gone from the air.

"You should find your kids," Logan said seemingly out of the blue.

"Why?" Andell asked. "I don't know their names, and I have no idea where they are. They probably hate me or don't want to see me, or both."

"You've given this some thought."

Andell shot Logan a glare, but then scowled and hung her head, her dark brown hair falling around her face and hiding her expression, but not muffling her voice in the slightest. "Of course I've given it some thought, Logan... Ever since Stryker shoved that detail into my face, it's all I've been able to think about, trying to remember their faces, their names..." She looked up at her mutant companion, her eyes already turning red with the unshed tears. "Stryker didn't give me any of those details... he gave me nothing." She paused, as if to give Logan time to respond, but then she opened her mouth and let out a strangled scream.

As Logan watched, her face and stomach began to bleed again and she screamed. "What the hell?"

She made a noise like a bark and sucked in a deep breath. Before Logan's eyes, the wounds healed themselves and she had calmed herself significantly, but the pain was still evident on her face and in her purple eyes. Andell groaned loudly and pushed herself back to a sitting position leaning against the tree. Another groan escaped her lips. "When I get... over emotional... that happens."

"Your healing... reverses?"

Andell was saved from having to explain by a scream erupting from the mansion.

It came from Jaklyn's tower.

* * *

After eating only a few bites of dinner, Jaklyn shooed Piotr out of her room and crawled under her covers, even going so far as to pull the blankets over her head. It took her several hours to actually get to sleep and when she finally managed to, she dreamed restlessly of running through the woods, of chasing people, of hunting them. The beast in her seemed to be using her subconscious to have its time. If it meant she wouldn't change, Jaklyn would be glad to sacrifice her sleep.

But apparently, that wasn't going to happen either.

Jaklyn awoke around midnight with her skin rippling and her bones already beginning to shift. Without looking, Jaklyn already knew her eyes had gone wolf and her teeth were extended. She set her jaw against the pain of an unwanted change and tried to keep from screaming and for a while she managed, the screams turning into strangled cries as her limbs lengthened and her body expanded to accommodate the largeness of her other form. As her ribs broke to fit her new lungs, Jaklyn knew she wasn't turning into a wolf, but the werewolf form of her mutation, and just as she realized that, her mind began to slip, the animal in her taking over.

And she screamed. Loudly and raggedly. She screamed until she thought her throat was going to split, and she only stopped when they animal had taken over completely.

Standing beside Jaklyn's bed was a hulking half-human, half-wolf, pitch black fur shining with blue highlights and red eyes holding more anger than anyone would have thought possible. The werewolf would have busted through the door and headed down to the mansion proper, but Piotr, having heard some strange noises from his bedroom on the floor below, had ascended to the tower and was now standing in the doorway, a combined look of fear, anger and determination on his face. As he and the wolf locked eyes, Piotr's body became covered in the organic metal that made him nearly indestructible and the wolf roared again.

_No, no, no, don't hurt him, please don't hurt him, please, please, please..._

The werewolf roared as the thoughts tore through the animal's mind. Jaklyn was fighting to reclaim her mind, to take control.

_I am sick of this! I'm not going to let you—let myself—hurt anyone else! _

Footsteps sounded on the stairs behind Piotr and the werewolf's head turned, her muzzle rising to the air as she sniffed, taking in the feral scents of those on the steps. Wolverine and Sin—Logan and Andell. At the smell of Logan, the werewolf howled, long and eerie.

_God damn it! Fuck! _Jaklyn, from the spot in her mind where she went whenever the animal was taking over, pushed, grabbed, did whatever she could to try and reclaim her mind, to make the more savage aspects of her mutation hers again. There was no powerful psychic to help her anymore and no, she couldn't spend her life fighting, so she had to do this herself; she had to take control. _Don't hurt anyone else. Don't, don't, don't... DON'T!_

The wolf took a few steps towards the door, but Piotr held his ground, his metal skin shining softly in the light from the hall.

"Move it Tinman!"

The wolf growled at the appearance of Logan and Andell, both with claws extended and their clothes torn and covered with drying blood; the scent of blood made the wolf howl again and it forced Jaklyn to fight harder to find control.

_Come on Logan. Stab me or something... _She was losing the tentative grasp she had on the animal part of her mind and since pain and fighting usually helped her revert to her human form, maybe some pain would help her reign in control.

The wolf howled again, its red eyes focused on Logan's face. Andell jumped in on the moment, her claws extended and slid into the wolf's stomach. The pain cleared the fog from Jaklyn's mind and she was able to reach out and grab the animal. The wolf stopped in mid action, its nose working overtime, trying to locate whatever was impeding its attack and why its stomach hurt. Andell sent a few shocks of electricity into the wolf, just enough to sting. The wolf and Jaklyn screamed together and Jaklyn lost control. The werewolf that was Jaklyn tossed Andell away, leaving space for Logan and Piotr to step up and grab the powerful mutant.

_God damn it... I need to get control! _If Jaklyn had been in corporeal form, she would have been scrunching her face up in concentration as she opened her arms—in a manner of speaking—and attempted once again to draw the animal part of her back into her mind. The wolf resisted, but she persisted.

"She's changing back!" Andell cried from the top of the stairs where she'd been tossed.

With a final scream, Jaklyn pulled the wolf back into her and her skin rippled once more, but this time it was the transformation in reverse, like her human skin was absorbing the fur, the claws, the teeth. After a moment of painful noises and strangely liquid sounds, Jaklyn was once again in her room, standing naked and still pinned between Piotr and Logan. She was sobbing and breathing heavily, covered in sweat and tears, but there was a smile on her face.

Logan stepped back, allowing Piotr to take his girlfriend in his arm. He cast a look at Andell and they moved towards the stairs.

"Logan," Jaklyn said, her voice shaking. "Andell." They both stopped and turned to face the girl, who smiled and said, "Thank you." After they were gone, Jaklyn looked up at Piotr and hugged him tightly, pressing her face into his chest, which was now warm and soft again. "And you too..."

He kissed the top of her head and hugged her close. "I would not leave you, _Lapushka_."

She smiled against his chest and hugged him tighter. "I like that nickname," she said, tilting her head up so she could look at him. "It makes me feel not like a crazy mutant."

Piotr smiled down at Jaklyn, kissed her forehead, her nose and then her mouth. She returned the kiss deeply and slipped her arms around his neck, moving up to her tiptoes to better achieve that, since he was almost a foot taller than her. When they pulled apart, Piotr smiled again, although his cheeks were very flushed this time and Jaklyn was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was naked. She pulled away and grabbed another sleeping t-shirt from the chest at the end of her bed and pulled it on. When she turned around to face her boyfriend again, they both laughed a little.

* * *

"So... do you think you have this thing under control?" Silence asked.

It was raining outside, so Silence, Mina, Kitty and Jaklyn were sitting in the corner of the living room reserved for those who wanted to talk and not watch the television. Jaklyn, who was stretched out on the floor with a pillow under her head shrugged and titled her head backwards to look at Silence, sitting in the chair near her head.

"I don't know..." she admitted. She had already told them the events of the night before, and all of her friends were relieved to finally have an explanation for the weird noises they'd heard. "I managed to gain control of it last night, but there hasn't been anything to really test my control since then, and I'm not really looking for anything. I don't want to change again until I'm in the Danger Room with someone who can kick my ass and keep me in line." Jaklyn pushed herself up to a sitting position and crossed her legs underneath her, leaning against the wall so she could face her friends. "Andell said she'd fight with me."

There were nods all around, and then Mina asked, "So is Lady Logan sticking around?"

Jaklyn shrugged again. "I guess so. I think she wants to be around someone else like her so she can figure out who she is or something..."

"She's lost," Kitty observed.

"Speaking of lost," Silence interjected with a not-so-subtle subject change. "Does anyone know what they're going to do at the end of the summer?"

"I'm staying here," Mina said. "Going to help teach the younger students."

"I'm going to stay here as well," Jaklyn agreed. "I don't really want to go out into the world when I'm not sure about my mutation. Don't really want to hurt anyone. And I could help teach English."

"I got accepted to a couple of schools in New York, so I'm going to stay here and go to school, and that way I can still live and help out at the mansion," Kitty said with a pleased smile. "And you Silence?"

Silence shifted in her chair. She had been dreading this moment, and was dreading it even more knowing that all her friends were staying here, but she had given it a lot of thought and she knew what she wanted. Or, at least what she thought she wanted. "I... I'm thinking about going to California, either to study or just to live for a while. I need to get away from here," she added hastily. "Just for a bit. I'm not sure if I'm going to stay."

Mina's face had darkened with anger, and neither Jaklyn nor Mina looked too pleased either, but it was Mina who got to her feet and left the living room in a huff.

"Sorry guys," Silence said as she pushed herself out of her chair and hurried after her best friend. "Mina! Mina, wait!"

Mina ignored her and kept walking.

"MINA! GOD DAMN IT, STOP!"

Mina turned on her heel and stormed back down the hall, her face twisted into something very angry, very vicious and very unlike an expression Mina had ever worn before, especially when facing her best friend. "You're going to _leave_?" she barked. "And that's how your chose to tell me?"

"I just decided a few hours ago!"

"And why didn't you tell me you were having trouble deciding what you want to do? I could have talked to you, helped you decide what was the right thing for you to do!"

"Mina! Mina, this is something I have to do! I need time to figure out who I am again!"

"Oh, and Warren wouldn't have anything to do with this decision, would he?"

Silence closed her eyes and counted to five, but it wasn't enough, so her eyes snapped open again, the reddish irises alight with flame, but she wouldn't snap, not on Mina. "Of course Warren factors into this situation, Mina. But he's not the only reason I'm going to California," she said as calmly as she could managed. Even so, her voice was still tight, angry. "With my brother deciding he was going to join Magneto, Jamie turning into an ass, and everything else that's happened recently... Mina, I don't really know who I am anymore! I need time away from this place to figure it out, and I need my best friend to be okay with that."

Mina huffed and dropped her arms, which had been crossed across her chest. There were tears in her eyes and a look of pure anguish on her face. "Silence... damn it, of course I'm okay with that, but I don't want you to go. I need you here. I need you to help me be angry at John, I need you to help me get back on my feet... I need you to help me stay me. You can't move across the country. You just can't." She was crying full-out now, the tears sliding down her cheeks in torrents.

Silence stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Mina, tears falling down her own cheeks. "Fuck, Mina. I don't want to leave you, but I have to. I'll come back and visit and I don't know how long I'll be in California. It could just be a couple weeks... This place will always be home to me, Mina... You'll always be my best friend."

"I know that."

Silence smiled into her friend's hair. "Then what are you whining about bitch?"

Mina coughed a laugh and held her friend tighter. "Now you're going to have to explain this to everyone else."

They pulled apart and smiled at each other, the tumultuous moment passed, and okay again. Smiling, they walked back to the living room, where Jaklyn and Kitty were talking about their after summer plans, Jaklyn asking Kitty what she was planning on studying and Kitty telling Jaklyn she'd be a great English teacher. As Silence and Mina sat back down in the circle, the conversation expanded to include everyone, the four friends eager to figure out how they would keep in touch as they went about their lives more independently than they had before.

* * *

**Author's Note.**

Holy crap! I'm almost done this fic!

FINALLY.

There is just one chapter left. I know I said there was going to be more, but it turns out I'm really bad at planning out chapters and usually end up writing less than I thought I was to. However, I really just want to get this fic done, so I'm not going to worry about it too much this go-round.

Anyways, enjoy. There likely won't be any more X-Men fic from me unless I decide to write some random stuff later on, but seriously, not likely.

Okay! Onto the last chapter!

**Next Chapter: New Beginnings. **


	13. Chapter Thirteen: New Beginnings

I don't own anything to do with anything in the **X-Men **franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce, Andell Brown, and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with **X-Men III: The Last Stand **and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and a little bit of sexual content, but nothing too graphic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Intoxication  
**Chapter Thirteen: New Beginnings.

* * *

"Are you sure you have everything packed?" Mina asked. She was leaning on the doorframe of the room she'd shared with Silence since she'd moved into the mansion. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was trying not to cry as she watched her red-headed friend shuffle around through the suitcases, making sure she had everything for her journey to California. "Well?"

Finally, Silence stood up, hands on her hips and a satisfied look on her face. "I have everything," she declared. Upon taking in the look on her best friend's face, Silence stuck out her already substantial bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. "Mi-Mi, it'll be okay. I'll come visit and you can come visit me. We'll still see each other and we'll talk and still be best friends!" Silence crossed the distance between them and threw her arms dramatically around Mina, her overly dramatic gestures bringing a smile to her friend's face and making Silence beam exceptionally brightly.

"Good."

Silence slipped her arm around Mina's shoulders and pulled her out in the hall, the pair walking towards the stairs to descend to the living room. "Now stop moping around! My plane doesn't leave until this evening, so we have the entire day to waste doing _nothing_!"

It had been several weeks since Silence had told her friends she was moving to California for a while to find herself. Life at the mansion had settled into what it had been before everything with Stryker had started almost two years ago. The students who lived at the mansion full time were eating up their summer swimming and running around the grounds, reading and working on skills they didn't have time for during the school year. Some of the more academically-minded kids actually spent time getting ahead in their studies. The older students and the remaining teachers had spent time straightening and cleaning the mansion, preparing for new students and organizing the facilities for the arrivals of new mutants and humans; Storm had decided to open the school for all who wanted to attend. It might mean some people would have to share rooms, but no one seemed to mind. As it was only two weeks before the next school year began, the students had already begun to move in and the mansion was beginning to team with life.

Silence and Mina found Jaklyn, Piotr, Kitty, Bobby and Rogue sitting outside around one of the large picnic tables outside by the pool. The group were engaged in a conversation about the changes coming to the mansion, but they stopped chatting the moment Silence and Mina arrived as they knew what had been going on and they were unsure what the emotional state of the friends was going to be. When they saw smiles on the girls' faces, the group relaxed slightly and they fell into the rhythm of idle chatter that can pass between friends.

Somewhere in the middle of all that chatter, Silence got up and started a trek around the grounds. She was leaving that night and she wanted to have some time alone to say goodbye. The others understood and resumed their chatter as the redhead wandered off towards the trees.

She passed the spot under a large oak tree where she and John had spent hours sitting and talking and being suspicious of the other mutants when they'd first arrived at the mansion. Silence paused by the tree and shook her head, chuckling to herself as she thought of just how suspicious they'd been, afraid someone was going to break up the sibling team. They had been alone for so long at that point, that the idea of someone wanting to take care of them, of a place where they would be safe, seemed ludicrous. As those thoughts faded though, her brother's betrayal came to the forefront and she frowned, flames momentarily flickering behind her crimson eyes; the sibling team hadn't existed for a long time and she knew that, but it hurt a little to be reminded. The hatred she now felt towards him was intensified by the reminder of the pain he'd caused Mina.

With a sigh, she moved on, veering off the path to walk along the small stream that cut through the grounds for about half a mile. Mina and Silence had spent many summer afternoons walking the same path, talking about boys and school and boys and their mutations; Silence had also shared her first kiss with Jamie along the stream.

Silence was going to miss the mansion, and unless something miraculous happened in California, she knew she'd be back. The mansion was the first place she'd felt truly safe, even more than her childhood home back in Australia. She'd done most of her growing up—her real growing up, not the forced growing up running away had caused—at the mansion, among mutants who had called her friend and treated her like family, and with people like Jean and the Professor to look up to and learn from and even with them gone, the mansion still radiated their influence. The mansion was home.

The fiery mutant set herself down beside the stream and stuck her feet into the cool water, faint tendrils of steam issuing from where the water made contact with her skin as always happened when she was emotional.

"Hello?"

Silence turned slightly to determine the source of the voice and found herself looking at a small boy with wide brown eyes and blue-black hair sticking up in erratic spikes. She had never seen him before, so it stood to reason that he was one of the early arrivals for the new year. "Hi there," she said, flashing a charming grin. "Can I help you?"

The boy scuttled forward until he was close to Silence and settled himself on the ground beside her, keeping his eyes on the grassy bank of the stream. It was a while before he answered, as if he was looking for the right words or unsure what to say all together. "I can't find my way back to the house," he admitted, his cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment and the reason for his reluctance becoming clear. "Can you take me back? I'm hungry."

"Sure sweetie." Silence pulled her feet out of the water and slipped them back into her flip-flops. As she pushed herself back to her feet and extended a hand down to the small child, she asked, "What's your name?"

"Kaidan. What's your name?"

"Silence."

"That's a weird name."

Silence smiled and started walking, the boy's hand remaining latched onto her own. "Are you a mutant, Kaidan?"

He nodded eagerly. "I can move things!" As they headed towards the path, Kaidan stuck his hand out and pointed with his index finger to a rock about the size of Silence's fist. A bluish aura surrounded the stone and, with a little wobble, it rose into the air all of six feet before he lowered it back to its resting place, the telekinetic no worse for wear save a fine sheen of sweat across his forehead.

"That's very impressive!" Silence said sincerely.

"Really?" As Silence nodded, Kaidan continued and said quietly, "My mommy thought it was scary."

Seeing that the child was about to cry, Silence swept him into her arms, bracing him on her hip and wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. The boy returned the embrace, his tiny arms latching around her neck, and pressed his face into her shoulder. In that moment, Silence felt connected to the boy; her Mom had thought she was scary as well. "It's okay Kaidan," she cooed. "You'll be safe here. This place is meant for mutants. You can learn how to use your powers and you'll meet other mutants."

He raised his face and gave her a small smile. "Really?"

Shifting her weight a bit so she could hold the boy, keep walking, and raise one hand to wipe the tears from his soft cheeks. "Really," she promised. "Look. There's the mansion."

Kaidan took in the house and squirmed, letting Silence know he wanted down. Silence lowered the boy and watched him run a few feet before he stopped and turned around. "Are you a mutant Silence?'

She turned her palm up, a small ball of fire appearing above it, spinning rapidly. "Yup."

His eyes widened. "Cool! Will you be here while I'm at school?"

She managed to keep herself from frowning, but shook her head. "No. I'm going to California, but I'll come and visit, okay?"

Kaidan spent a moment looking hurt and then decided her proposal was adequate. He waved energetically and then ran off, heading for the mansion in search of some food. Silence smiled to herself, shook her head a little and then returned to her friends, thinking that the mansion was going to be a much different place with all the little kids running around, but knowing somehow that it would still be home.

* * *

Andell stood in the middle of the room she'd been given after Alcatraz Island, arms crossed over her chest and purple eyes glued out the window as she watched the children run around. She had removed her leather jacket and tossed it on the bed, kicked her boots and socks into the corner and was standing in the air conditioned room in her capris and a semi-transparent tank top that showed her purple bra.

The room didn't look any different for Andell having slept in it for many nights except for the unmade bed. She had stored the clothes she'd bought neatly in the drawers of the dresser and her toiletries were arranged in the small adjoining bathroom, but it didn't really looked lived in. There were no pictures on the walls and nothing on the bedside table, no books or decorations on the shelves. Regardless, Andell fell comfortable in the room. It felt like someplace she could come to call home, and she hadn't had a home since... well, since she could remember.

Beyond liking the room, Andell found herself liking the mansion as well. She liked the people always buzzing around. It was impossible to feel lonely in a house full of people and more so, full of mutants just discovering their powers, eager to learn and experiment. She liked the life of the place. The last time she had been around so many mutants had been when she was tagging along with Magneto's camp, but that hadn't been anywhere near the same. The pressures there had been heavy, depressing, angry. The pressures at the mansion were, for the most part, happy and relaxing and Andell felt relaxed when she was surrounded by them.

For the first time since waking up submerged in a tank of water, attached the Adamantium-injection machine, Andell felt content.

"I think I'll stay," she muttered.

"You don't seem like the type to stay in one place for long."

She turned to face Logan, her hands dropping to her sides. She was slightly surprised but not displeased to see the mutant. Since their fight a few weeks before, Andell and Logan had reached some sort of peaceful acceptance of each other's existence and had spent quite a bit of time talking and probing each other's memories; it was a weird way of getting to know each other. The presence of a mutant like herself was another thing in favour of Andell staying at the mansion. Logan was interested in her memories of the time she spent working for Stryker, and his continued experimentation with Adamantium, and Andell was interested to hear about how he escaped and what had come to him afterwards.

"And neither do you, but how long have you lived here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged with one shoulder and tossed her a beer, which she caught with one hand and twisted the cap off. "So why are you going to stay?" he asked.

Andell took a long pull from the brown bottle and returned the half shrug. "I like it here," she said simply.

"Good enough," Logan replied. Andell leaned on the windowsill behind her and crossed her arms again, her beer held loosely in one hand. Logan settled himself against the wall by the door. "Do you remember what it was like to have a family?" he suddenly asked, probably against his better judgement.

Slightly caught off guard by the question, Andell forced herself to remain calm as she thought about it. Her family had been a sporadic topic between the two of them and Andell often wished she had better answers for Logan, a guy she was starting to consider a friend. "No," she said. "Like I said before, Stryker never gave me any details beyond that I had a son and a daughter somewhere and that I abandoned them." A frown flicked across her face, but she fought to keep the emotions down. "And probably grandchildren by now..." Her purple eyes darted back and forth.

Sensing the impending emotional bloodshed, Logan said, "So you're older than you look," in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The frown shifted to a brief smile and her eyes lightened. "So are you," she jibed.

Logan barked a laugh and nodded. "Stryker left us both in the dark about our lives then, eh?"

"Guess so." Andell sighed and took another long drink from her beer. Not wanting the discussion to return to family, her mind went to the only other topic that had been occupying her mind with any frequency: life at the mansion. "What are you going to teach?" she asked.

"What makes you think I'm going to teach?"

She raised an eyebrow at Logan. "Maybe the fact that the teaching staff has been severely reduced over the last little while?"

Logan stared at her for a few seconds, his dark eyes intense as he no doubt began thinking about Jean. He took a couple sips from his drink, scratched his head and deposited the empty bottle on the top of Andell's dresser. "I'll probably just help out in the danger room. I don't know enough about any subjects to teach the kids." Andell nodded and drained her drink, seemingly satisfied with that answer, as Logan said, "And Storm will find something for you to do if you stick around long enough."

"I think I'd like that."

* * *

Jaklyn collapsed to her knees, her fur receding to be replaced by her leather X-Men uniform. She fell forward onto her hands and sucked in the deepest breath she could manage. After having suffered the beating she had, one might think she would look displeased or angry because she'd lost, but the shapeshifting mutant was smiling, her lips pulled back over sharp teeth. Once her breathing had returned to normal, Jaklyn pushed herself to her feet and steadied herself on the arm of Andell, who had appeared in front of her, the smile only growing upon seeing the approving look of the woman who had taken it upon herself to be Jaklyn's punching bag.

"That was good," Andell said, turning her head up slightly to look Jaklyn in the eye; the younger mutant was a couple inches taller.

"That felt _great_." Jaklyn took a few steps away from her current pillar of support and, once she was sure she wasn't going to fall over, she did a little spin. "I only lost control once and you helped me get it back! This could really work! I could really beat this!"

Andell's smile was small, but it was proud. She had worked with Jaklyn a few times over the past weeks and each time the girl had improved, and Andell liked to think it was at least in part due to her involvement. Jaklyn hadn't wanted to fight Piotr and Logan had had other things to do around the mansion, so Andell had taken it upon herself to help Jaklyn and she'd taken it for several reasons. Not only did Jaklyn need someone to fight, but doing so gave Andell some purpose at the mansion as well as a way to spend her time other than wandering around the grounds, pestering Logan and drinking beer.

In a surprise move, Jaklyn through her arms around Andell. "Thank you so much for your help!" she said.

Andell's smile faltered and she didn't know what to do. Timidly, she returned the embrace. "You're... welcome."

Jaklyn stepped back and gave Andell one last smile before turning and heading for the change rooms just outside the Danger Room. The main doors to the training room unlocked and slid open and Jaklyn almost walked into the wall of flesh that was her boyfriend. She stopped herself about an inch in front of his chest and looked up, a slow smile making its way across her face. "Hey," she said. "What are you doing down here?" There was nothing accusatory or negative in her voice.

"I... was watching. I was worried."

Jaklyn slipped her arms around Piotr and gave him a quick hug, not wanting to prolong the contact because she was covered in sweat. She didn't say anything, however.

"You looked much more in control, _lapushka._"

There was nothing slow or quiet about the smile on Jaklyn's face this time. She beamed at him. "I was. I could hardly feel the beast this time, but I think it was because Andell kept me going."

"Don't sell yourself short, Jaklyn." Piotr cupped her cheek with his large hand and ran his thumb back and forth along her cheek. "You have made astounding progress over the last few weeks."

"But I'm still not in complete control... I don't want to hurt anyone else," she said, her euphoria of a moment before all but gone.

"Jaki..." Piotr sighed and pulled his gaze away from his girlfriend's eyes. The truth was Jaklyn may never be in complete control of her beast, but he wasn't sure now was the time to breach that topic, so he stuck with something that he knew would make her happy again. "You can't focus on that. You have to focus on the fact that you have made more progress than anyone thought possible in less than a month. With more time, who knows what you will be able to achieve. Be happy with what you've done."

She blinked, a tears leaking from her eyes, and then nodded. Piotr grabbed her face in both hands and used his thumbs to wipe the tears away. "Thank you Piotr," she whispered.

He bent forward and kissed her deeply for a moment. "You are welcome, _lapushka_."

For another moment, they remained close and lost in each other and then Jaklyn pulled away to shower and change. There were a few hours left until Silence had to leave and the girls—Mina, Silence, Jaklyn and Kitty—had decided the best send off would be to go out and do something, _anything_, just the girls. Once she was clean, Jaklyn and Piotr returned upstairs—Andell had apparently ascended into the mansion proper while Jaklyn was in the change room as the older woman preferred to use her own bathroom now that she had one—and found their friends. The girls were all dressed and waiting, and since Jaklyn had had the foresight to bring her "going out" clothes down to the change room, they were able to leave right away. Still a little nervous about going out in a crowd, it took some last minute urging to get Jaklyn out the door, but soon they were on their way and laughing.

Almost four hours later, after dinner, some shopping and a movie, the girls returned to the mansion, tired and with smiles on their faces, although the exuberance they had had when leaving was gone; the impact of Silence's departure was weighing heavier on the girls the closer it got.

"You have to leave right now?" Mina asked as the girls reached Silence's bedroom.

The redhead nodded. "Yeah. Well, I have to put my things in the car, but then I have to go."

Jaklyn, Mina and Kitty stood in the doorway as Silence tripled checked her things. "It won't be the same around here without you Silence," Jaklyn said. "Although with the kids running around, it'll be close."

Silence shot her friend a grin. "You guys will be fine. You'll have plenty to deal with. Now help me get these bags downstairs already."

Jaklyn and Kitty each took two bags and proceeded towards the garage, followed a moment later by Mina and Silence, dragging the rest of Silence's luggage behind them.

"I can't believe Silence is leaving..." Kitty said quietly.

Jaklyn nodded. "I know."

"And all those new kids will be moving in within the next couple days."

"I guess it's going to keep changing around here, isn't it?" Jaklyn asked with a sigh. She wasn't really expecting to get an answer, and she didn't. Instead, her and Kitty fell into a companionable silence as they made the trek, Mina and Silence following the pattern behind them.

Jaklyn called on her superior packing skills to fit Silence's things into the truck of the car her and Mina would be taking to the airport, all the while marvelling at how much crap the girl had managed to accumulate since she'd settled at the mansion. With that thought however, Jaklyn reflected on the things she'd bought since she'd moved to the States and realized it was way more than she would have guessed. Granted, most of the things she'd bought were clothes and art supplies, but the amount still astounded her. Bringing herself back to the task at hand, Jaklyn made sure nothing was going to move around before she tossed Silence's bag-like purse in the front seat so the fiery and rather easily distracted mutant could find her keys without much stress.

Back in the mansion proper, everyone who knew Silence had gathered to say the final goodbyes, and the arrangement was a little too like the one they'd had for Jean's and the Professor's memorials for Jaklyn to be comfortable. She stood next to Piotr and tried to keep from huddling.

Many of the younger kids who Silence had helped with homework and worked with through Danger Room sessions appeared to give her hugs and it was those goodbyes more than any other that set Silence over the edge. Her red eyes filled with tears that she fought with, but ultimately lost the battle. Eyes streaming, Silence hugged each one of the kids and then turned her attention to her teachers and mentors, even going so far as to give Logan a hug, which made the scruffy mutant's eyes go wide even as he awkwardly patted her on the back in return; the gesture bringing chuckles from many watching.

As Silence turned to go, she grabbed Jaklyn by the wrist. "You're coming with us to the airport," she said.

Jaklyn blinked, her mechanical eye whirring slightly as it adjusted to the rapid changes in focus. "I am?"

Silence nodded, her dark red locks bouncing slightly. "I want you and Mina there. You two are my closest friends at the mansion." She sniffed and the tears nearly started again. "I want you two there."

Jaklyn nodded and gave Silence a smile. "Just don't start crying and crash the car."

Mina joined in the laughter and the three headed down to the garage, arms wrapped around each other as if they were reluctant to let go.

* * *

**Author's Note.**

*is dancing around*

I'M DONE! THAT'S IT! NO MORE!

I hope you enjoy! I'm glad you enjoyed the fic! And if you didn't, pretend!

*is crazy*

Haha, Mass Effect reference. BIG reference. And that's only in there because really all I can think about is Mass Effect and I needed a name, thus you get the reference. Oh wells.

So nothing really happens in this chapter, but I wanted it to show where everyone is at the end of the movie, and by the end I mean the part at the end where you see all the kids coming to the school. Which, logically, is at the end of the summer. So... yeah.

Anyways, enjoy.

**Next Chapter: THERE ISN'T ONE! I'M DONE! **


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